XXXX Australian Beer Brand & History

XXXX is a brand of Australian beer brewed in Milton, Brisbane by Queensland brewers, Castlemaine Perkins (now a division of the Japanese-owned company Lion Nathan). It enjoys wide popularity in the state of Queensland, where it is commonly found on-tap in pubs and bars.

The XXXX brand was first introduced in 1924 and is a throwback to the long standing tradition of using Xs to indicate the strength of an ale. The brand name also built upon XXX Sparkling Ale introduced in 1878. The brand is used on the XXXX Bitter, XXXX Gold, XXXX Light Bitter (Lager), XXXX DL (Diet Lager) and Sovereign (Lager).

Previously sold beers, currently not available, include Thirsty Dog (Wheat Beer) XXXX Draught/Original Draught, and XXX Sparkling Ale which is only sold at the XXXX alehouse next to the brewery.

The XXXX brand was launched in 1924 by then Castlemaine Brewers, named after the town of Castlemaine, Victoria where the company was born in 1857. The yellow-and-red label still bears this town's name. XXXX has been brewed in the Castlemaine Perkins Milton Brewery since its introduction, and has featured an artist's sketch (later very stylised) of this brewery on the label of beer bottles and cans.

In the 1950s the prominent 'XXXX' illuminated sign was erected on the brewery. "XXXX" itself refers to a traditional grading system for strong beer.

In 1992, Castlemaine Perkins was acquired by Australian beverage and food company Lion Nathan, who in turn were taken over by Japanese beverage conglomerate, Kirin, in 2009.

XXXX is the most widely available beer throughout most of Queensland, although many other beers, such as Victoria Bitter and Tooheys are popular. The most widely known variant outside of Australia is XXXX Export Lager.

XXXX was brewed under licence in the UK by InBev Ltd until 2009. It was commonly available in cans in British off licences and sometimes on tap in British pubs, although it was much less widely available than Foster's.

At 3.7% alcohol, the British brewed XXXX was somewhat weaker than most of the Australian variants. Castlemaine XXXX was withdrawn from the UK at the end of June 2009 when InBev's licensing agreement expired.

Dalmore Whisky Distillery & History - By Luusama

Since 1839, The Dalmore distillery has been producing exceptional single malt whisky. Located on the shore of the Cromarty Firth in the spectacular Highlands of Scotland, the distillery continues to produce spirit that is revered by experts and connoisseurs alike.
 
The distillery warehouses feature some of the oldest whisky stocks in the world and visitors to the distillery receive a rare insight into the skill, expertise and crafting required to produce each precious drop of The Dalmore.

The Dalmore is a distillery in Alness, Scotland, located about 20 mile north of Inverness. The waters of the River Alness, which runs through the village, are used to produce its whiskies.
 
The distillery is best known for producing a single malt scotch whisky of the same name. Its location and flavour qualify it as a "Highland malt". The Dalmore distillery is owned and operated by Whyte and Mackay Ltd, which is owned by United Breweries Group, a large Indian conglomerate.
 
The Distillery was established in 1839 by Alexander Matheson, a trader who made his fortune in illegal opium imports from the Far East. It sits on the banks of the Cromarty Firth overlooking the Black Isle, the "big meadowland", from which it takes its name. The distillery was bought by the MacKenzie family in 1886.
 
It has been passed down that in 1263, a predecessor of the Clan MacKenzie saved King Alexander III from a rampaging stag whilst out hunting. In reward, the King allowed him to bear the Royal emblem of a 12-pointed stag in his coat of arms. Recently, the MacKenzie motto Luceo non Uro or I shine, not burn has also been taken up by Dalmore.
 

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Elijah Craig Bourbon Whisky - By Luusama

Elijah Craig is a 12 year-old super-premium bourbon whiskey produced by the Heaven Hill Distillery company. 

The company is headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky, and its distillery is in Louisville, Kentucky. The brand is sold as a straight bourbon. It is sold in glass 750ml bottles.

Elijah Craig whisky is made in both 12 "Small Batch" and 18 year-old "Single Barrel" bottlings. 

The 18 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon is touted as "The oldest Single Barrel Bourbon in the world at 18 years . . ." made in oak barrels that are "hand selected by Parker and Craig Beam," losing nearly 2/3 of the barrels contents in Angel's share. 

The barrels are later sold to the Scotch Whisky industry or used by microbrewers for making Bourbon Barrel aged beer such as Goose Island Brewery's "Bourbon County" Imperial Stout.

In the San Francisco World Spirits Competition of 2010, the 18 year-old Elijah Craig Single Barrel Bourbon was awarded Best Bourbon and a Double Gold Medal rating. 

Glenfiddich - The World's Most Awarded Single Malt Whisky By Luusama

The Glenfiddich Distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery owned by William Grant & Sons in Dufftown, Banffshire, within the Local Government District Council area of Moray, Scotland.

The Glenfiddich single malt whisky first ran from the stills on Christmas Day, 1887. Following difficult times in the 1960s and '70s, many small, independent distillers were bought up or went out of business. 

 
In order to survive, W. Grant & Sons expanded their production of the drink, and introduced advertising campaigns, a visitors' centre and from 1957 packaged their whisky in distinctive triangular bottles.

Later, W. Grant & Sons was one of the first distilleries to package its bottles in tubes and gift tins, as well as recognising the importance of the duty-free market for spirits. This marketing strategy was successful, and Glenfiddich has now become the world's best-selling single malt. 

It is sold in 180 countries, and accounts for about 35% of single malt sales.

The water source is the Robbie Dhu springs. Glenfiddich is matured in oak casks such as rum casks from the Caribbean, Bourbon whiskey barrels from America, or sherry butts from Jerez in Spain.

 

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THE GLENLIVET SCOTCH WHISKEY BEER BAR NEON LIGHT SIGN 17"X13"

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Gordon & MacPhail - An independent bottler and distiller of Scotch Whisky By Wikineon

Gordon & MacPhail is an independent bottler and distiller of Scotch Whisky, founded in 1895 and located Elgin in the north-east of Scotland. It is a family business owned by the Urquhart Family. Gordon & MacPhail is the Trading name of Speymalt Whisky Distributors Ltd.

Gordon & MacPhail are one of the best known independent whisky bottlers. Gordon & MacPhail has been bottling single malt whiskies for over 115 years, and now bottles over 350 different expressions from around 70 distilleries.

The Private Collection is a range of single malt whiskies personally selected by the Directors of Gordon & MacPhail. Each is of exceptional age and rarity, and of outstanding character and quality. The collection is small and any new additions are eagerly anticipated.

Gordon & MacPhail's retail shop is located on South Street in Elgin. The shop is split into four sections. The Deli, The Wines and Spirits Department, The Grocery Department, and The Whisky Room, which has one of the largest collections of whisky in the world.

 

Highland Park Distillery Information & History - By Luusama

Highland Park distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery based in Kirkwall, Orkney. It is the most northerly whisky distillery in Scotland, half a mile farther north than that at Scapa distillery. Blackwood distillery in Shetland presently produces only gin and vodka.

Highland Park has performed well at international spirit ratings competitions. Its 25 year single malt scotch, for example, received double gold medals at the 2007 and 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

The distillery was founded in 1798, presumably by Magnus Eunson. The name of this whisky does not refer to the area of Scotland known as The Highlands, from which Orkney is excluded, but rather to the fact that the distillery was founded on an area called 'High Park' distinguished from a lower area nearby.
 

Highland Park is one of the few distilleries to malt its own barley, using locally cut peat from Hobbister Moor. The peat is then mixed with heather before being used as fuel. The malt is peated to a level of 20 parts per million phenol and then mixed with unpeated malt produced on the Scottish mainland.
 
In 1984, Highland Park was the only whisky ever to have scored a rating of 100% by the regular tasting team of The Scotsman, a national newspaper of Scotland. Whisky reviewer and expert Michael Jackson has called it "The greatest all-rounder in the world of malt whisky."

Highland Park is available in various proprietary bottlings by year, as well as a special bottling known as Cappella, available only at the distillery. In addition, several independent bottlings of Highland Park are produced. Highland Park is also one of the ingredients of The Famous Grouse blend.

Bladnoch Distillery - Scotch Whisky in South West Scotland By Luusama

Bladnoch Distillery is a Single malt Scotch whisky distillery in south west Scotland. It is one of six remaining Lowland distilleries, and is located at Bladnoch, near Wigtown, Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway.
The distillery was founded by John and Thomas McClelland in 1817. By 1845 twenty workers, exclusive of tradesmen, were employed in converting 16,000 bushels of barley per annum into spirit. In 1878 the distillery was enlarged and modernised, presumably to cope with rising production.

During the 1890s "misfortunes" which are not specified struck the distilling industry; these could have been the reduction nation-wide in the production of barley, a possible rise in excise duty and the growth of the various temperance movements. The other distilleries in Galloway were forced to close but Bladnoch survived.

Between 1911 and 1937 it was owned by Wm Dunville & Co. Ltd, an Irish company, and on the outbreak of World War II whisky production ceased, but malt continued to be produced until 1949 when the distillery closed until 1957.

Upon re-opening under new ownership whisky production began again and continued under a number of different owners until 1983 when Bell's took over and initiated a programme of modernisation and computerisation.

In 1987 the United Distillers Group took over Bell's and continued the modernisation as a result of which the weekly production rose to over 8,000 imperial gallons (36,000 L), more than eight times the output in 1887.

The distillery was bought by Irishmen Raymond and Colin Armstrong in 1995 and reopened for production in late 2000. The first 8-year-old product produced by this new team became available in 2009.

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SKYY Vodka Information & Neon Sign

SKYY Vodka is produced by the Campari America division of Campari Group of Milan, Italy, formerly SKYY Spirits LLC. 

SKYY Vodka is 40% ABV or 80 proof; SKYY 90 Vodka is a 90 proof high-priced brand aimed at martini drinkers, as well as flavored SKYY being 70 proof. 

Its creator, Maurice Kanbar, claims the vodka is nearly congener-free due to its distillation process. The bottle is a cobalt blue with a plastic label. 

In 2008, SKYY expanded the SKYY Vodka line with five new flavors, referred to as SKYY Infusions.

Actual production and bottling of the product was outsourced to Frank-Lin Distillers Products in San Jose, California. Bulk ethanol is delivered in railroad tank cars to Frank-Lin's railroad siding near the San Jose rail yards.

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Dewar's Whisky By John Dewar & Neon Sign By Luusama

The Dewar's whisky brand was created by John Dewar, Sr. in 1846.

Under the control of his two sons, John A. Dewar Jr. and Thomas "Tommy" Dewar, the brand expanded to become a global market by 1896.

Tommy became famous as the author of a travel journal, Ramble Round the Globe, which documented his travels while publicizing the Dewar name. Dewar's eventually expanded their product by constructing the Aberfeldy Distillery in 1896.

Dewar’s is a storied distiller of blended Scotch whiskies of varying ages since 1846. Other Dewar’s releases are the splendid double aged “12” which is just a step above the “White Label”. Above the 12 year old “12” is the Dewar’s 18 year old label and Dewar’s Signature is the highest quality variety in the Dewar’s canon.

The “White Label” variety debuted in 1898 and consisted of 10 malts but since then it has grown.

The company joined Distillers Company in 1925. Distillers was acquired by Guinness in 1986, and Guinness merged with Grand Metropolitan to form Diageo in 1997.



Finally, Diageo sold Dewar's to Bacardi in 1998.

 

Dewar's Neon Sign By Wikineon 

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Maker's Mark Whisky Neon Light Sign By Wikineon

Maker's Mark Whisky Neon Light Sign By Wikineon

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Maker's Mark - a whisky from Kentucky, by Beam Inc.

Maker’s Mark is a small-batch bourbon whisky that is distilled in Loretto, Kentucky, by Beam Inc. It is sold in distinctively squarish bottles, which are sealed with red wax, and bottled at 90 U.S. proof (45% alcohol by volume). The distillery offers tours, and is part of the American Whiskey Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Production of Maker's Mark started in 1954, after its originator, T. William "Bill" Samuels Sr., purchased the distillery known as "Burks' Distillery" in Loretto, Kentucky for $35,000.
The first bottle of Maker's Mark was bottled in 1958 and featured the brand's distinctive dipped red wax seal. Maker's Mark holds a U.S. trademark (serial number 73526578) on the wax seal of their bottles.

The distillery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 1974, and designated a National Historic Landmark on December 16, 1980, listed as "Burks' Distillery". It was the first distillery in America to be so recognized where the landmark buildings were in active use for distilling.

Maker's Mark was sold to Hiram Walker & Sons in 1981, which sold it to distillery giant Allied Domecq in 1987, which in turn sold it to Deerfield, Illinois-based Fortune Brands in 2005.

After the brand's creation by Bill Samuels Sr., its production was overseen by his son Bill Samuels Jr. until 2011 when he announced his retirement as president and CEO of Maker's Mark at the age of 70. His son Rob Samuels succeeded him in April 2011.

On February 9, 2013 the company sent a mass e-mail announcing a plan to reduce the alcohol strength of the whisky – citing supply issues as the reason for the change. The result of this change would have been to reduce the product to 84 U.S. proof (42% alcohol by volume).

On February 17, 2013 the company said that it had reconsidered its decision after receiving a strong negative reaction from customers, and that it will continue to bottle at the original strength. Some overseas markets like Australia will continue to sell the whisky at 40%.

Mark’s Mark Bourbon is clear with a medium golden amber color. On the nose, the Maker’s Mark has a complex aroma of caramel, vanilla, orange rind, allspice, cardamom and mellowed out cloves. It is clear that clear that the flavors are derived from the charred oak barrels in which the Marker’s Mark rests for a number of years.

On the palate, the Maker’s Mark is smooth with a luscious mouth feel (you can feel the heat of the alcohol burn but it doesn’t affect the taste) with notes of caramel and burnt sugar on the back palate, butterscotch, vanilla, flamed orange peel and cardamom with a spicy kick. Well integrated components that result in a fiery, spicy, complex Bourbon with a long fish.

Jameson Irish Whiskey with its Neon Sign

There are a few Irish whiskies that almost immediately come to mind and Jameson Irish Whiskey is one of them. This is a brand that you can rely on being there, where ever that may be, one that you know won't cost a fortune and one that tastes pretty good with its full flavor and smooth character. Jameson is reliable and it's a good Irish whiskey for an any day sipper or every day stock for the bar.

1770’s with a dream to break into the booming whiskey business. At that time Dublin was known for some of the best whiskey in Ireland and Jameson furthered this belief by refusing to cut corners on quality products. He built the brand from the ground up, selecting the best barley and casks and keeping the entire operation in a single distillery so that quality could be ensured. The result of years of this work have established the brand’s philosophy to this day and it continues, not in the Old Jameson Distillery, but in the newer Midleton Single Distillery nearby.

Jameson’s profile reflects its blending techniques of whiskies aged in various casks including sherry, bourbon and port and it is these woods that impart the complexity of the whiskey. This makes it a delightful sipper for the robust whiskey connoisseur and a pleasant cocktail ingredient. Irish Coffee has a wonderful whiskey base, the Leprechaun and Jameson and Ginger become complex, and the creamier Irish Eyes has depth when Jameson is employed. It is, however, not as smooth as some other Irish whiskey, but for the price, reliability and versatility that difference is minimal and relatively insignificant.

Jameson holds a sweet fragrance of malted barley with butter tones and subtle oak. The palate is marked by the same, with the grain turning darker and more apparent and notes of spicy nut mixing in and out. It finishes with honey and spicy, smoky snaps of barley that work through the long fade. 

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Aberfeldy Whisky Distillery

Aberfeldy Distillery, founded by the John Dewar & Sons, Ltd., was built on the south shore of the river Tay in 1896, just beyond the city boundaries of Aberfeldy and opened in 1898.

However, with demand for barley rising in World War I for use as a basic foodstuff, the distillery closed from 1917 to 1919. The Second World War also caused barley supplies to be cut, and the distillery was again forced to shut down for some of this period. Supply to final markets was kept up by reducing the period whisky was laid up from 7 years to 3.

In 1972 the distillery was enlarged, and the present stills were replaced by four new steam heated stills. In 1999, an Aberfeldy 12 Year Old Single Malt brand was introduced. In 2000, the Earl of Elgin opened "Dewar's World of Whisky" at the Aberfeldy Distillery: this is a centre for marketing the products and educating the public about the process of distillation and history of the Dewar's brand.

Aberfeldy is the largest malt whisky component of Dewar's Blended Whisky.

Aberfeldy is situated in the centre of Scotland, some five miles east of Loch Tay and the town of Kenmore and about eight miles south of Loch Tummel. Aberfeldy relies on the fresh water stream Pitilie Burn, which runs alongside the distillery. Aberfeldy is the only distillery in Scotland to use these waters. Aberfeldy uses only Scottish barley, yeast and water.

The area is contains historical landmarks, such as Kenmore Bridge. This was built by the 3rd Earl in 1774 and the view from it was the inspiration for Robert Burns's poem on the chimney piece of the Kenmore Inn.

International Spirit ratings organizations and liquor review bodies generally have had divergent reactions to Aberfeldy whiskies. The San Francisco World spirits competition has awarded the Aberfeldy 12- and 21-year whiskies a series of impressive medals, with the 12-year winning three golds and three silvers between 2007 and 2012 and the 21-year winning three golds, a double gold, and two bronze medals over the same time frame. By contrast, Wine Enthusiast rated both offerings in its 85-89 range, a relatively modest score, in 2008.