Prestige House

Whisky Auctioneer is proud to unveil what is possibly the oldest Scotch whisky in the world, discovered in the cellars of Blair Castle in Highland Perthshire and believed to be distilled in 1833. Believed to be the same whisky a young Queen Victoria enjoyed on her visit to Blair Castle and distilled almost two hundred years ago, in a whisky industry in growth following the 1823 Excise Act, this is an unparalleled discovery of Scottish distilling history. In November 2023, Whisky Auctioneer will have the privilege of presenting 24 individual bottles of Blair Castle c.1833 Scotch Whisky at auction. To stay up to date, register your interest to receive exclusive content, updates, and more: whiskylink.co/Blair-Castle And, while you wait, read more in top titles 📰: The BBC: https://whiskylink.co/BBC STV: https://whiskylink.co/STV The Scotsman: https://lnkd.in/e3PmRHE5 Der Spiegel: https://lnkd.in/eHCUPjXd

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goes by various names such as Sustainability, Responsibility, or Corporate Communications, and it has evolved into an essential component of any corporation. What initially began as a philanthropic endeavour has now grown into a fundamental component of business strategy that plays a crucial role in defining a company's identity. Employees place significant emphasis on a company's CSR initiatives when deciding to join it. Likewise, consumers make purchasing decisions based on how a company contributes to the community and the world in general. Companies are aware that attracting and retaining top talent hinges not only on having a robust CSR programme but also on effectively communicating it to the public. CSR has become an integral part of a company's mission and is no longer viewed as something separate or optional. Sponsored by Prestige House, this award recognises companies that demonstrate excellence and innovation in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts. Congratulations to the top three finalists! We look forward to seeing you at the Awards Ceremony! ⏰ Date & time: 27-September (Wednesday); 1800-2130 📍 Venue: Ballroom, 3F, Regent Taipei 💫 More about the Better Business Awards Ceremony 2023🔗 https://lnkd.in/gK_Ew4jM BCCTaipei Better Business Awards 2023 are made possible by CWind Taiwan, Eiger., GSK, HSBC Taiwan, KPMG Taiwan, Motive Offshore Group Ltd, NIRAS, PCA Life Assurance Co Ltd. (保誠人壽), Prestige House, Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan and, Taylor Hopkinson | Powered by Brunel. 👉 For media inquiries, please contact our marketing team at marketing@bcctaipei.com. #BCCTaipei #business #work #people #future #sustainable #commerce #sustainabledevelopment #responsiblebusiness #sustainablebusiness

An excellent interview here with Ewen Mackintosh by Whisky Magazine editor Bethany Whymark, explaining Gordon & MacPhail's shocking announcement. Though I understand entirely why the business has made the decision to cease buying new fillings of spirit and wind down its independent bottling — and the reasons are good — I felt genuinely emotional when the news was shared with me at a dinner in London back in June. It's hard to put into words the role that G&M has played in the industry. Whether it's creating 'official' bottlings for single malts that were usually destined for blending via its Distillery Labels series, setting a high bar for quality via its Connoisseur's Choice range, or capturing the world's attention by releasing the oldest Scotch whiskies ever bottled, the company has always stood out from the crowd. (My article from back in 2017 tells the full story: https://lnkd.in/eKGTZrdv) In fact, G&M's stocks are so broad and deep that the company has come to act as something of an unofficial archive of the entire Scotch whisky industry — and the importance of this role can't be understated. Due to the industry's historic focus on mass-market sales and blending, many distillers lack a portfolio of aged and rare stocks from their own distilleries, and the word is that many have had to approach G&M in recent years, cap in hand, to buy back whiskies in order to create their own official prestige offerings. Though G&M's stocks will allow it to continue bottling older and older whiskies for most of the next century, this announcement still feels a little bit like we've been told a rare flower or animal is now certain to go extinct, as the environment it depended on no longer exists. Indeed, this is exactly what's happened: new spirit fillings prices are going through the roof (some say up as much as 300-400%) and many larger producers are restricting or ending historic supply agreements while making it harder for new customers to get on the books. G&M is by no means the only independent bottler-turned-distiller to see generations-long fillings agreements, often negotiated with a handshake rather than a contract, come up for 'renegotiation' or be pulled entirely. Things are even harder for newer, less well-established bottlers, which are now all competing for the same restricted number of casks on the secondary market, as pressure on both new fillings and mature stock increases as the 'big two' restrict supply. And, with sales projections looking so good, it's also hard to lump too much blame on distillers. Thankfully, there's still lots to come from G&M. By winding down its releases of younger whiskies, I'm sure stocks reserved for high-age expressions will continue to impress. What's more, if its Benromach Distillery gives any indication, the company's new site, The Cairn, will have plenty to excite whisky fans too.

🚨 The #ScotchWhisky export figures for H1 2023 are out, with value holding steady on 2022's record-breaking stats, as consumers continue the switch to higher quality spirits like Scotch 👇 🚢 Value -3.6% 🥃 Volume -20% Read the full release 👉 https://lnkd.in/eEeCW3jg

🪵🥃Air Dried vs. Kiln Dried 🥃🪵 Once again, the team at Benromach has shown that they’re here for the whisky nerds. This time, they’re letting us taste the difference between whiskies matured in casks built from kiln-dried and air-dried new oak, with all other parameters being kept the same. Studies such as ‘Effect of the Seasoning Method on the Chemical Composition of Oak Heartwood to Cooperage’ (Martínez et al, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2008, 56, 3089–3096) have shown that air-drying is generally preferred to kilning, as it leads to the creation of casks with ‘higher aromatic potential’ — in layman’s terms, it leads to the creation of more of the good stuff we want to extract from casks during maturation. Air drying also tends to reduce tannins to preferred levels, especially in European oak. During the 12-36 months of air drying (different producers dry for different lengths of time), seasonal rainfall ‘washes’ the staves repeatedly, gently washing away harsh tannins and other water-soluble elements. Meanwhile, exposure to local microorganisms leads to as yet little understood organic processes taking place within the staves, as these organisms spread through the wood and transform elements in the oak. On the other hand, the high-temperature environment inside the drying kilns drives its own kinds of chemical processes, above and beyond just driving out moisture. Though air-dried oak is generally said to be preferred, kiln dried isn’t ‘bad’ as such in terms of aromatic potential. (Of course, from a sustainability point of view its energy input is much higher). Much of the oak used for cooperage today is kiln dried, and these casks form the backbone of the industry. With all this in mind, I can’t wait to compare and contrast these two Benromach single malts for myself!