ECW Dram of the Year Show 2024 - Friday 20th December

For our last community online tasting of the year, we are going to review some very fine drams indeed. I feel there is a good balance here, between young and old & rare, and each and every dram ties into a particular ECW whisky tasting, tour or event from this past year. We will enjoy whiskies from the 1950's to the 2010's, something not really available anywhere else!!

Now I appreciate this is the busiest time of year so it will be possible to get the recording and play & taste at your leisure during the festive season. Certainly these will bring great cheer!!

The Drams

The Hearach SC#655 Selfridges 57.3% - Love these new Harris single casks!!

2010 Balblair 14 SC#2561 58.6% - Collected on our recent ECW tour.

Aberfeldy 9 Scottish Oak 59.7% - Aberfeldy made a guest appearance at our recent HQ dinner, this one was cracking!!

Waterford Heritage Goldthorpe 50% - Don't be a hater this is a resurrected grain from the C19th & super tasty.

1972 Oban 20 40% - Ultra Rare Oban, collected in Paris.

1993 Clynelish 30 Milroy’s 45.3% - Stunning Clynelish, one of the releases of the year for sure.

1974 Glen Ord 23 Rare Malts 60.80% - My kind of whisky, first tasted at "The Golden Promise" in Paris back in September.

1991 Glen Garioch 33 WLP 1 of 1 53.5% - 1 of 1 MAGNUM whisky released for the LMDW Whisky Live Paris Charity Raffle, amazing dram!!

1973 Talisker 27 D.Laing 46% - In my all time Top 5 Taliskers!

1980 Scapa 25 54% - First tried in The Orkney Hotel, Kirkwall on our amazing tour there in March.

1964 Highland Park 34 G&M 40% - A very special seasonal H. P. for you.

1965 Samaroli Coilltean 40 Blended Malt 45% - WOW, best blend of all time?

Bulloch Lade’s Old Rarity (1950’s) 75proof - Or this Caol Ila based one is!?!

also some optional ultra extras!...

1979 Talisker 40 CoD 43.3% - MIND

1985 Cragganmore 38 CoD 45.3% - BLOWING

1964 St.Magdalene 30 Cadenhead 48.5% - WHISKY!!!

The Details

We will meet on Zoom at 7.30pm, a link for this & the running order will be sent out to you in advance. If you can't make it we record our sessions so you can watch & taste along later. All 15ml or 20ml drams are sent to you in post protected packaging.

To join our community to get involved with this or any of our tastings, tours and events, please email us at dram@eastcoastwhisky or join/ping us on WhatsApp

https://chat.whatsapp.com/KcVVR0L7Tz32sGCcO3Wy1e

The ULTIMATE whisky feast! - Friday 4th October @ The Edinburgh Larder

Hot on the heels of August's highly successful sharing plates and just a few drams (joke), we return with the ULTIMATE WHISKY FEAST @ The Edinburgh Larder, to be held from 7pm on Friday 4th October.

Now last time nearly everyone left with a whisky bottle and enjoyed roughly 14 drams (see above!), along side some delicious Scottish Tapas. This time there will be even rarer bottles, more guest surprises, a right festival of whisky, and a very special 3 course dinner...

Starter

40yr old G&M Caol Ila cured salmon, pickled cucumber, toasted rye, dill emulsion,

Main

Slow cooked shin of beef, potato and celeriac dauphinoise, charred broccolini,pickled shallots, whisky and peppercorn sauce,

Dessert

Sticky toffee pudding, salted caramel and Highland whisky sauce, whisky snaps, Vanilla ice cream.

...and something for you to take home!!

Okay so the cost is £120, you can www.paypal.me/ecwhisky (friends & family, as this is a community event) or I can send you a bank payment link. Places are limited, already there are only 12 left, so please move fast. Any questions, contact me through dram@eastcoastwhisky.com or through our ECW WhatsApp Community chat. We look forward to welcoming you for another memorable evening at The Larder.

The Edinburgh Larder - 15 Blackfriars St, Edinburgh EH1 1NB just off the Royal Mile.

East Coast Whisky x Thompson Bros Whisky Weekender @ The Dornoch Castle Hotel - 1st/3rd November 2024

The Whisky Weekender 1st - 3rd November 2024

A very special weekend event has been arranged for you all, deep in the Scottish Highlands. Following on from our succesful partnership bottling of Glen Garioch 1988, the Thompson Brothers are hosting us at the Dornoch Castle Hotel, their legendary whisky venue. This is a proper whisky residential, not your usual 4 hour whisky show!! Expect special drams and surprises. Now read on for all the details...

1st of November 2024

The Feast & BYOB - At 6 pm we welcome you to the Dornoch Castle Whisky Bar to begin the evening with a social meet-and-greet and BYOB. A family-style feast will be served in the hotel restaurant at 7 pm. BYOB will continue during the meal and into the evening...

2nd of November 2024

The Secret Tasting - We invite you to gather at the Castle Whisky Bar at 7.45 pm for the main event, this tasting has been curated by Phil & Simon Thompson & Frederick Maitland (ECW). They will present eight whiskies in pairs. Each pair will have one whisky selected individually by the Thompsons and Fred! The whiskies will be presented blind and the Thompsons and Fred will not be aware of each other's selection until the 2nd of November, although an adjudicator will ensure we do not select the same bottles! This promises to be a unique tasting event and an entertaining evening! The evening will continue after the tasting in the Castle Whisky Bar!

3rd of November 2024

Breakfast will be served from the hotel restaurant from 8-10 am. Complimentary late check-out is available until noon to allow everyone to recover from the tastings!

The Details

What does the price include? 

Bed & Breakfast at Dornoch Castle Hotel for two nights.

The feast meal & BYOB on the 1st of November.

The ECW x DCH tasting on the 2nd of November.

20% Discount on all whisky by the measure in the Dornoch Castle Bar.

10% Discount* on off-sales from Thompson Bros Bottle Shop/Dornoch Castle (off-sales discount excludes Dornoch Single Malt).

Option to purchase one Dornoch Single Cask Single Malt Whisky on check-out (one per attendee).

What does it cost? 

£525 based on one person in a standard garden room.

£900 based on two people in a standard garden twin or double-bedroom Room.

Supplements: £20 per room per night for a Superior Castle room, £50 per room per night for a Castle Deluxe room.

Extend your stay on the 31st of October or the 3rd of November: £100 per room per night based on a standard garden room, whisky discounts will continue to apply... 10% on Off-sales & 20% on Whisky by the measure (the above supplements will apply to Superior or Deluxe rooms).

What is the price breakdown? 

£100 per room per night - £25 per room per night supplement for a second person (applicable on the 1st/2nd only).

£75 per person for the Feast meal (1st of November) £250 per person for the ECW x DCH whisky tasting which includes 8 x 1.5cl measures.

How do I book? 

Bookings are made via the Dornoch Castle Hotel website and reservations will require a £100 deposit per person. To reserve the weekend please enter the code eastcoast when booking. This will open up the weekend and also give first refusal to the 31/10 and 3/11 if you wish to extend the weekend. A further £100 per person will be required in July, with the remaining balance due at check-out of Dornoch Castle Hotel in November.

GET BOOKED IN NOW!!! - spaces are already getting filled.