Samaroli - daracha.nodaracha.no/wp-content/uploads/Samaroli_catalogue_2011.pdf3 Introduction This publication contains: • A brief description of Silvano S. Samaroli’s over forty

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Samaroli

Catalogo 2011

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................3

Silvano Samaroli...................................................................................................................................4

The Excellence and Uniqueness of Samaroli products: their “Value Added” features ............................5

A summary of the corporate development of Samaroli Srl ..................................................................7

Scotch Whisky .....................................................................................................................................8

A short history of Scotch Whisky ..............................................................................................................8

Rum ...................................................................................................................................................14

A short history of Rum ............................................................................................................................14

Samaroli 2011 Catalogue

Whisky Selection 70 cl ...........................................................................................................................19

Rum Selection 70 cl ...............................................................................................................................38

Whiksy Selection 50 cl ...........................................................................................................................44

Rum Selection 50 cl ...............................................................................................................................54

Library Samaroli 70 cl ............................................................................................................................60

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IntroductionThis publication contains:

• A brief description of Silvano S. Samaroli’s over forty years’ experience as a selector of top quality spirits

• A summary of the corporate development of Samaroli Srl

• The excellence and uniqueness of Samaroli products: their “Value Added” features.

• Some information regarding Whisky and Rum which we believe could be of use to those with less experi-ence as well as to real buffs

• The Samaroli 2010 catalogue

In a few words, “Samaroli” means: selecting individual casks of Whisky or Rum, from which a series of numbered bottles are produced.

It is therefore possible that through time some of the products described here may no longer be available.

Coilltean®, NoAge®, Glen Cawdor® e Yehmon® are all registered trademarks

Any suggestions you care to make should be sent [email protected]

Tel. +39 06 6864813and will be very welcome.

Thank you in advance for the time and attentionyou dedicate to the results of our work, always carried out with passion.

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Silvano S. SamaroliFrom “Il mago degli spiriti” by Daniele Cernilli (with the collaboration of S. Prompicai) - GAMBERO ROSSO – June 2000

Silvano Samaroli is now famous and esteemed and selects samples sent to him from all the most important dis-tilleries;smallbottles,eachofwhichcomesfromaspecificcask;Samarolichoosesthecaskandhasitbottledwith his own labels.

Born in Bologna seventy years ago, Silvano Samaroli, has been selecting and bottling the world’s greatest whiskies since 1968.At that time he was the only non-British or non-Scottish person doing this type of work.His story is based on the gamble he took, a chance taken rather recklessly but with great determination and almost maniacal perfectionism.Selecting great malts means drinking sample after sample, a thing that is anything but easy to do. Many whiskies are cask strength, so can easily exceed 50° abv and, above all, in-depth knowledge of the very compli-cated world of Scottish malt distilleries is indispensable.

Samaroli, was it difficult to have yourself taken seriously by those people?Yes,Ididn’thavemuchexperienceatthebeginning.…I’dliketotellyouananecdote.Ononeofmyfirstvisitsto Scotland – it must have been in 1969 or 1970, I was received by the manager of a famous distillery. He im-mediatelyaskedmyopinionofthreeanonymoussamples…Isaidthatthefirstseemedtometobeamaltthatwasatleastfifteenyearsold,thesecondten,thethirdsixorsevenandthatIwasunabletoclassifythefourth,as it was really terrible. Extremely surprised, he told me that I was right on them all, and that he’d added a little sherry to the fourth to see if I’d notice it.

At that time, distilleries operated with a complete production cycle. What is the situation nowadays?Everything has changed now. … The majority of the distilleries have gradually been bought by large multinational groups;followingthis,aseriesofprocesseshavebeencentralizedandindustrialized.…Themaltedbarleyflour,which is at the basis of the production process, is almost the same for them all now and is purchased from bulk maltings. The result is that there is an increasingly obvious similarity in the various malts’ characteristics. This is a precise economic process that is also obliging me to take rather drastic decisions.

Does this mean you will no longer select and bottle single malts, in other words those from single distilleries?… We’ve reached the limit for single malts. … Of course, a few distilleries still remain out of the big multinational scenario.... Moreover, the small ones are not always a guarantee of quality, they’re often hard put to stay on the market, whereas some large distilleries can produce very well. Size doesn’t mean much as far as quality is concerned, one should not be prejudiced, but just taste, assess and judge.

Let’s get back to the end of great malts. How do you intend continuing your selection work?I told you that in my opinion we are entering the era of vatted malts, in other words the combination of various malts. Not that some good products are no longer to be found….I don’t want to disappoint my clients, so I’ll con-centrate much more than in the past on new editions of our NoAge®….

You’re famous for your great whiskies, but you have also selected some great Rums.I fell in love with Rum after tasting a truly sensational product. I was really astonished. After ten years’ research … I selected the West Indies 1948 …

In conclusion, how long can a great spirit be aged?Great malts can’t mature in wood for more than 25 or 30 years. After this, they loose body and structure, even if theykeeptheircomplexaromas;muchlongerinbottles,it’snotknownexactlyforhowlong,butdefinitelymorethan thirty years.

As far as rum is concerned, this depends on where the ageing in wood takes place. Maturation is much faster in tropical areas. Many great rums from ex-British Guyana were aged in casks freighted to England, where the climate is cold and damp. Ideal for this spirit.

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The excellence and uniqueness of Samaroli productsExcellence, n. Character and condition of someone or something that is excellent: the undisputed – of a remedy; the – of a painting. The highest degree of perfection: Michelangelo reached – in art.

Uniqueness, n. inv. Character of someone, or something that is unique; being the only one: here an abso-lute – of judgment is necessary. || ANT. Multiplicity, plurality. || Quality of something that is unique in its kind; singularity: the– of the event; the – of the artistic product.

These are the comments enthusiasts and trade members currently use at Samaroli tasting sessions; reading the definitionsagain,theseadjectivesfilluswithprideandmakeusawareofourenthusiasticClients’expectations.

They are our constant objectives and sum up Samaroli’s “Value Added” features.

Samaroli products are the result of a series of factors that effectively make them unique when compared with others; a uniqueness that always aims for top grade perfection.

Eachofourbottlesisacombinationofcountlesssmalldetailswhichweshallattempttodescribebriefly.

The search for and choice of single casksSilvanoS.Samaroliisnotanindependentbottlerliketheothers,ashewasthefirstnon-Scottishindependentbottlerever;hiscareeristhereforeunrivalledinItalyand,combinedwiththecredibilityhehasbuiltupinthefield,this means that distilleries and brokers always send the best of their production for his consideration.

In Silvano’s brief interview we mention how much his search for excellence requires in terms of continuous in-depthtasting/nosing,sinceeachsamplecorrespondstoapreciselyidentifiedindividualcask.

Maturation: methods and timesLikeallindependentbottlers,Samarolichooseswhatsatisfieshimmost;but,aswellasbeingabletochoosethe very best, compared to others, his distinctive trait is the ability to interpret the characteristics of the spirit of which he has received a sample.

Ajudge,anexperttailorwhocanimaginethefinishedgarmentwhenlookingatthefabricswatch;theabilitytopredict the effect that can be had on the spirit by the external agents under the control of the man who can decide what type of cask to use as well as the location and length of maturation. Choosing whether to use a new cask or one that has already been used (and, if used, for what: Sherry, Port, Madeira, …); increasing the body and/or elegance of aromas and perfumes; calculating ageing time to obtain symmetry, harmony and rhythm, dimensions according to which a spirit’s balance, excellence and uniqueness are expressed and measured.

acidity and

primaryaromas

8 YEARS 40 YEARSBODY

vanilla fruitand

florals

best time to bottlea single

FLAVOUR

greataromas

greatflavours

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Bottling:This process might seem to mean just passing spirits from one container to another, so not very important as far as the end result is concerned; this is not the case.One example is the technique used for our NoAge: not adding distilled water all at one time, but – as was the tradition in the 19th century – in the course of an entire calendar year, to enable to spirit to “welcome” the new element, avoiding the risk of unbalancing the delicate combination of 40 single malts, whose ages, in the case of the 2008 edition, go from 1957 to 1996.

Differences compared to industrial processes: For a typical industrial company, which has as its aims high output and turnover targets, the main objective is to have products with characteristics that remain constant through time.

The simplest most effective method for achieving this result is to mix a large number of casks, so that the bet-ter casks enable the Master Blender to attenuate any imperfections in lower quality casks, obtaining a typical product character that remains unchanged through time; this feature is clearly the exact opposite of the “absolute individuality” of each Samaroli bottling.

As it is the result of a mixture of casks, industrial bottling will not indicate the “year of birth” of the cask on the label, which is a fundamental element for understanding for how long the spirit was in the cask and how long it has been in the bottle.

Every Samaroli bottle always indicates:

• the year of “birth” of the cask,• the year of bottling: the common belief that spirits don’t improve after bottling is a falsehood• the number of bottles obtained from each individual cask• each individual bottle’s number.

Samaroli’s main objective is to only select and bottle casks that are “… unique and excellent …”, not to have as its target high output or wide distribution which, on the other hand, are precisely the main aims of widely con-sumed industrial products.

Considering a single cask of the same quality, Samaroli will bottle it when it reaches the maximum of its possibili-ties, whereas industrial producers will bottle it when it is able to improve the result of many other casks that are not of such high quality.

Conclusion:In a few words, our production philosophy is a search for Quality; our Quality, which- we are well aware – might not coincide with other people’s concept of Quality.We like the idea that our choices are as Unique as you are.

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A summary of the corporate development of Samaroli SrlTo talk about the new corporate structure of Samar-oli Srl, it is necessary to start from the history of the Bleve family, which begins in 1970.When they arrived in Roma from southern Italy’s Salentoregion,AnacletoandTinaopenedthefirstwine and oil shop in the Jewish ghetto in via Santa Maria del Pianto.Their shelves’ contents immediately seemed differ-ent from those of the city’s other wine shops.

Anacletowasoneofthefirsttoselectandofferhiscustomers great wines from France and Piedmont, and above all great spirits; this is how Anacleto met Silvano and his Selections back in 1974.

Withthehelpofsonsandnephews,in1982theBlevesopenedthefirstwinebar,integratingtheperiod’sclassicwine shop format with tasting sessions of selected cold cuts and cheeses from all over Italy.

Anacleto’s shop thus became a reference point on the Rome scene and a crossroads for all lovers of the Eternal City and many others; the venue was so successful that in 1999 Marchesi dè Frescobaldi entrusted the Bleve family the management of the Frescobaldi Wine Bar opened at Rome’s Fiumicino airport. There are now three wine bars: in terminals 1B, 3C and 3H.

In 2002, Casa Bleve is a venue in which Anacleto combines all his ideals of hospitality, quality and selection; in fact, the old shop’s format has been integrated with ample areas in which to host events, a larger kitchen and the launch of private wine cellars, located in an extraordinary setting that includes a wall dating back to 1 AD, attributed to the famous Stagnum Agrippae and restored thanks to the passion and patience of the family itself.

As already mentioned, the collaboration with Silvano S. began in the seventies, when Anacleto decided to aban-don the famous brands of that period and concentrate on Absolute Quality.Surprisingly, the number of enthusiasts grew to the point that Anacleto purchased casks directly, and - from 1988 to2003–hebottledapproximatelythirty,sellingthemenpremière(thefirsttimethisformulahadbeenexperi-mented in Italy with spirits).

The choice of the Bleves was: to give continuity to the Samaroli project, as shareholders in the company, along with investors who were also passionate admirers of the Samaroli Selections, the natural continuation of what has already been said.

ThenewcorporatestructurefeaturesSilvano,asalwaysinvolvedinSelectionandConsultancy,flankedbynewpartners in the operational and marketing management sectors; in particular, Antonio Bleve has assisted Silvano for some time, with the aim of developing his own style in the future, based on Silvano’s many years’ experience and coaching, whereas Francesco Saverio Binetti will be responsible for the more organizational and commer-cial aspects.

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Scotch Whisky

Basic infoIn the Samaroli 2010 Catalogue, we described the main characteristics of the production zones; in the 2011Catalogue 2011 we have included a brief History of Whisky.

Thereisnoabsolutecertaintyastowhereandwhenwhiskywasdistilledforthefirsttimeandonthismatter,there is a certain on-going rivalry between Ireland and Scotland, claiming the paternity of the spirit.

Whisky trading certainly dates back to the 15th century; among the numerous legends on the spirit’s origin, the most “bucolic” is the one that attributes Irish barley farmers’ wives with the cereal’s distillation, to boost their husbandsafterahardsay’sworkinthefields.

Whisky is currently the most produced and most drunk spirit in the world.

During the fascist period in Italy, the drink’s name was Italianized, becoming “spirit of oats”.

TraditionIt is traditionally believed that the Celts, repositories of distilling techniques, immigrated to the west coast of Scotland, crossing the Irish Sea at the beginning of the 6th century, founding the Kingdom of Dalriada and taking the name of Scots.

The term uisge beatha (pronounced Ushki beiha) was abbreviated a long time later to uishie (17th century) and themodernwrittenformofwhiskywasusedforthefirsttimein1736.

There is considerable debate on the origin of everything, so we shall only report some of the countless supposi-tions and legends, and among them include one “reading” that is certainly rather pushing the limits, but at the same time is very fascinating; each of them fully shows the importance of the role that has always been played by alcoholic beverages, which, in the beginning, were certainly used as medication or as an esoteric means for communicating with the supernatural:

• Irish Monks educated in distillation by Saint Patrick – who in turn had learnt in France in Auxerre before 432, the date in which he left for his work of Christianization – later passed in their knowledge to the English fol-lowing the invasion of Ireland in 1170.

• Due to the doubtless widespread practice in The Middle East of medical and chemical arts – Egypt is at-tributedin3000bcwiththeabilitytoproducealcoholicbeveragesfromgrapesandflower–thesecretsofdistillation were exported by the Moors during their occupation in 1150 of part of present-day Europe.

A short history of Scotch WhiskyIntroductionAs mentioned in the “Basic Info”, it is unanimously agreed that the word whisky originates from Gaelic term uisge beatha.

It was then also translated by the Romans during their occupation of Bri-tannia into Latin as aqua vitae; the expression is used in French – eau-de-vie – as well as in Danish – akvavit – and they all refer to alcoholic liquids obtained by means of distillation.One of the many methods that can be used to abbreviate the History of Whiskyisdefinitelythatofconcentratingonthetechnicalinnovationsandeconomic events related to it through time.In the following pages we shall follow the web of these “Ariadne’s threads”, discovering ancient traditions and legislative provisions which are very sim-ilar to what usually occurs today.

SPEYSIDE

HIGHLAND

LOWLANDISLAY

CAMPBELTOWN

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Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, aka Paracelsus (Einsiedeln, 14 November 1493 – Salzburg, 24 September 1541), perhaps the most important physician and alchemist of that period, often enun-ciatedthepossiblebenefitsofalcoholinhistreatises.

Generallyspeaking,thefirstEuropeandistillersworkedinmonasticorders,astheywereaboveallinterestedinthemedicinalpropertiesoftheessences;theyappliedthedistillingprocedurefirstlytowineandlatertoherbalinfusions.

Due to the fact that it was impossible to cultivate vines in the cold climate of North-western Europe, the distilla-tion technique was applied to infusions obtained from the fermentation of cereals. Two examples of this are the famous Bénédectine and Chartreuse, which can be dated 1510 and 1605 respectively.

Thefirstwrittenreferencetowhisky is in1494, inwhichKingJamesIVordered “eight bolls of malt to make aqua vitae from Brother John Cor”. Tradition has it that he was initiated to this drink during a military campaign on the isle of Islay.

Another document dated 1505 assigns the newly founded Corporation of Barbers-Surgeons of Edinburgh the privilege of making and selling acqua-vite on an exclusive basis, even if only within the boundaries of the city itself.

In any case, the distillation of infusions obtained from cereals was already well known in the ancient world, in fact Edward Gibbon, in his famous His-tory of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published between 1776 and 1789, wrote that in 448 ad a certain Maximin – Ambassador of Con-stantinople – in the intent of reaching Attila the Hun, had the opportunity of tasting a liquor called camus, distilled from barley.

King James IV of Scotland

Arnaldo from Villanova

From the Middle Ages to the RenaissanceWhatever the origins are, it is certain that the secrets and techniques of distilla-tion were certainly already well known in Europe in the Middle Ages; probably duetothecountlessconflicts,theywerefirstlyforgottenandlaterbroughtbackinto fashion by Arnaldo da Villanova (Valencia, or Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, 1240 – Genoa, 1313), physician and alchemist born in Spain of Moorish origin, who learnt during a long stay in Sicily.

He is often indicated as the “Father of Distillation” as he clearly documented the distillation of numerous substances, in particular wine, in various publications.

His contemporary – Raimondo Lullo (Palma di Majorca, 1235 – 1316) – gave the generic result of distillation the name “alcol” from the Arabian al kohl, a term already used by ancient Egyptians.

• Another theory is that distillation was imported from the “secluded area where the sun rises” – i.e. India, Sri Lanka, Tibet, China and Japan – where rice, millet and “milk” from coconuts, palms and cows were already distilled in far-off times.

• Passing to the Holy Scriptures, the term maaim haaim “which cheered men’s hearts” is found in the Old Testament and was also translated as living waters

• Lastly, a “literal” reading of the New Testament could lead to the interpretation of “Holy Spirit” as the teach-ing of Saint Joseph (perhaps a fuller rather than a carpenter) to Jesus Christ of the secrets of distillation: in this context, the Miracle of the Wedding of Cana not did not regard the transformation of water into wine, but wine into Brandy.

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The crossover from its use for medical purposes – i.e. the preservation of organs and suchlike – to its use as a drink, took place when it was understood how to condense and mix the liquids produced; this, combined with theeventualrepetitionofthedistillationprocessledtowhatcouldbeconsideredasthefirstactualproductionofdistilled liquors.

Technologyunderwentsignificantevolution,passingfromsmallwater-cooledstillstostillswithcondensersim-mersed in water (15th century) and later with worm condensers mounted in cooling tanks (16th century); in the sameperiod,stillswereadoptedwithheadswithappropriatelydesignedshapestoensureasatisfactoryrefluxofcondensateintotheboilerinordertoobtaingreaterpurityofthefinaldistilledproduct.

The closures of Scottish monasteries (1560) had as a result the changeover to lay status of many monks who, to survive, divulged the techniques they knew and therefore the distillation at domestic level of whisky as well as the brewing of beer can be set at that date. A trace of the widespread nature of this practice is proven by an Act of Parliament that, due to the poor harvest, in 1579 had to limit by law the production of acquavite to just Counts, Lords, Barons and Gentlemen and, moreover, strictly limiting it to personal use.

Thefirstproductionofwhisky“forthepublic”usedanytypeofcerealtowhichvegetablearomasweresome-timesadded;inthe1755Dictionary,Dr.Johnsondefinedusquebaugas“distilledalcoholicmixture,extractedbymeans of aromatic substances”.

At the end of the 16th century, whisky was exported from Scotland to France and Ireland.

The present dayThe situation remained substantially steady from 1600 to modern times; in fact, production in Scotland was carried out in every county of the country, and in particular in the Highlands, in a very capillary manner; it was sea-sonal production, which was carried out in autumn and winter months and immediately following the grain harvest season.

In almost all cases, the apparatus commonly used were stills which varied considerably in size (from approximately 100 to 200 litres), the top (head) of which was dismantled manually to enable them to be “loaded”.

Even if in very limited numbers, actual distilleries began to exist.

The production was carried out with the surplus cereals in relation to nor-mal “family” needs; nevertheless, due to the quantity produced and its spread,in1644theScottishParliamentdecidedtoimposedthefirstex-cisetax,inordertofinancethetroops;withthesameaim,thefirstexporttax was imposed in 1661.

1670isthedateoffoundationofthedistilleryofFerintoshmentionedforthefirsttimeinanofficialdocument;after about a century (1760), Ferintosh Distillery distilled and sold over 50% of the whisky produced legally in Scotland: legally, as there was a widespread practice of illicit distilling, in order to avoid being subjected to the taxes foreseen by the State.At the beginning of the 18th century, in 1707 to be precise, the various consequences of the Act of Union of the Parliaments of England and Scotland included the fact that English taxes on alcoholic beverages were also ap-plied to Scottish citizens and companies; for this purpose the Scottish Excise Board was established, which, in spite of its name, was run by English staff.

The series of tax measures that built up over in the following years led to the Jacobite Rebellion in 1715 and later disorder in Glasgow in 1725; the possibility of using mixed cereals and tax exemption for home distilleries using directly produced cereals, led to production increasing vertiginously, doubling and tripling in a short time.

Whiskyproductionandtradewentthroughaverydifficultperiodfrom1757to1760;duetograinshortage,distil-lation was prohibited and this resulted in the closure of many legally registered plants and triggered a “parallel” privatemarket.Inotherwords,thefirstexampleofspiritsmuggling.Infact,astheywerenotsubjecttoeithertaxesoranykindofregistration,privatedistillersmadelargeprofits,atthesametimeevadinganykindofcompulsoryrestriction.

King Carl I of England, Scotland and Ireland

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The countermeasures adopted by the Government (limits on the dimen-sions of the stills and/or seals applied to them) did not achieved the ex-pected results but, on the contrary, further boosted smuggling (in 1777 it was estimated that in Edinburgh only 8 legally licensed distilleries were in activity and over 400 illicit ones), also causing a generalized drop in the quality of the products

In 1784 a sort of special statute was introduced for distilleries located north of the “Highland Line” that goes from Dunoon (on the West) to Dundee (on the East); those situated above that imaginary line had facilitated taxation, were authorized to use small stills (90 litres approxi-mately), had to use only cereals produced on site and could not export what they produced; the quantity produced was limited but the limited potential market led them to feature improved quality as a successful distinguishing feature.

To compete with their Highland competitors, in the Lowlands, the opposite direction was taken; the possibility of exporting their products and the ample rising demand, made producers focus on quantity. More alcoholic mix-tures and larger stills for continuous distillation (patent stills) were used, ensuring faster production.

These situations were among the countless reasons that led on one hand to the difference between Highlands and Lowlands as far as quality was concerned and on the other an increase in smuggling that made high quality products available also outside the Highlands.

Between 1820 and 1823, the meeting of the interests of various producers and the State led to the issuing of a new act that halved taxes, limited licence costs and extended the right to export, thus laying the foundations for what can be considered the modern whisky industry.

The number of active distilleries passed in a very short time (1823 – 1825) from 125 to 329 and over a hundred of them were in activity for over a ten consecutive years; obviously, the majority of them were ex-illicit distill-eries who entered the legal market since, following the tax reductions and deregulation,smugglingwasnolongerparticularlyprofitable,iftherisksitinvolved were taken into consideration.

Amongthefirst,ifnottheveryfirst,toobtainaregularlicence,wasGeorgeSmith’s Glenlivet in the Speyside, a region in which over 200 illicit distilleries were in activity in 1820.

Very large investments were involved, many lords and landowners built their owndistilleries, attracted by the supposedhigh profits ofwhich fantasticstories circulated in the Anglo-saxon world; production and product supplies thus increased out of all proportion, well beyond the demand.

Highland Line

The Contemporary AgeUnsuccessful attempts were made on many occasions to wipe out smuggling.

In 1816, in order to eliminate illicit distilleries, which in three years (1816 - 1819) had increased from 12 to 57 in the Highlands and from 24 to 68 in the Lowlands:

• the Highland Line was abolished,• use of stills with a minimum capacity of 180 litres was required,•taxationwasreducedby30%andtheuseofmixturesofcereals with a “lower alcohol content” approved.

A. Gordon IV Duke of Gordon

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The rocketing increase in production (13 million litres in 1823 – over 45 million litres in 1828), the pressure of beer brewers (who obtained the tax reductions on beer against a new tax levy on whisky) and poor harvests (from 1830 to 1850) led many distilleries towards closure; in 1844, the total of active distilleries did not exceed 170.

A milestone in whisky production was the decree that in 1853 legalized the mixing of whisky of different ages, providing they were produced by the same distillery: vatting was thus born.

This was soon followed by the “birth” of blending (1860); in other words, the possibility of mixing different malts with less expensive grain whisky. This possibility, combined with the use of continuous stills already in operation for some time, particularly in the Lowlands, resulted in an enormous quantity of spirits being produced again.

Progress provided new means of transport and the spread of railways gave business a further boost.

During the period between 1870 and 1880, the diffusion of whisky increased everywhere following the “glamour” connected with the image of “the Scotland of Queen Victoria”.

Nature also did its part when, due to the devastation caused by the vine louse, the production of Cognac and Armagnac virtually came to a standstill and whisky had an easy job of ousting these products with gourmet cli-ents worldwide.

Unfortunately, the giddy growth led to adulteration aimed at increasing the quantity available or reducing costs; thelackofpreciseregulationsallowedthispracticewithoutanybodybeingsubjecttofinesandwithouttheriskof breaking any law whatsoever.

In 1870 a “private” survey by a journalist (Charles Cameron) and chemist (James Gray) caused a great up-heaval, which led to these fraudulent methods being abandoned.

Theadoptioninlateryearsofsealedcorks(technology)andinsomecasescertificationsissuedbypublicofficers(legislation) began a recovery of quality, even if it was slow.

Between 1884 and 1888, a brief but intense sales crisis caused various fusions; but, in spite of the crisis, the whisky industry represented over 15% of the national revenue.

Productionbecamemorespecialized,vattingtechniquesweremorerefinedand“styles”begantomeetwithsuc-cess. First of all the Speyside style, commonly called “Glenlivet”; their smoothness and ampleness made these malts among the most suitable for mixing with powerful west coast malts or “insipid” Lowland spirits.

Casks in which sherry or port had been aged previously began to be used to further highlight the spirit’s aroma and taste characteristics.

Aswellasbeingusedformixing(vattingorblending),singlemaltswerealsoproduced;firstandforemost:Glen-livet, Caol Ila, Springbank and Bowmore.

In the same period (1890), the importance fully emerged of the dimension and height of the pagodas in order to obtain a more elegant product, i.e. where the aroma of smoking was a soft as possible, and avoiding excessive effects on the spirit’s taste; it must be noted that in that period production was still mainly carried out with continuous (patent) stills and only 37% with pot stills.

The continuous search for quality led to some distillers requesting the intro-duction of the denomination of Scotch Whisky only for those using traditional pot stills, but unfortunately, the commission responsible for the decision – chaired by Sir Lionel Playfair – sentenced that all products obtained with patent stills could keep the denomination of Scotch Whisky.

Ministero of Treasury, Lloyd George

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Anewproblemarosein1909intheformof“fiscalpressure”whentheMinisteroftheTreasuryatthattime,LloydGeorge,liberalpoliticianandstaunchpromoteroftemperance,introducedasignificant(30%)increaseinthetaxonalcoholicbeveragestofinancewidespreadwelfaremeasures,leadingtoasignificantdropinsalesinthefollowing years.World War I further penalised the production of whisky for a whole series of demagogic and populist provisions, againbytheaforementionedLloydGeorgewho,takingadvantageofgeneraldiscontent,identifiedtheuseofalcohol as the “cause of all ills”.

After WWI, prohibitionism, introduced in 1920 and enforced for over a decade, in fact gave a big boost to the business connected with whisky.

Exports to the Caribbean and smuggling in the USA made many people’s fortune, above all because the whisky produced illicitly in the United States was of extremely poor quality, so the demand for “a good Scotch” increased out of all proportion on the large US market.

The demand for full-bodied dark coloured whisky that could be diluted with little effect on its appearance and taste led to a drop in the production of single malts in favour of blends and mixtures able to meet the aforemen-tionedrequisites.Inthisperiod,thefirstindependentbottlersbegintoappearonthemarket.

In the decade from 1920 to 1930, the world economic crisis, which peaked in the 1929 Recession, resulted in the drastic reduction of production and in many cases the closure of numerous distilleries.

In 1933, President Roosevelt, although introducing a high tax on imports, whichremainedinforceuntil1935,finallybroughtprohibitionismtoanend.

WorldWarIIbroughtanothertaxonalcoholicbeveragestofinancethewareffort and German submarines’ blockade made it impossible for the United Kingdom to import cereals, with the consequent block of the production of grain whisky and the closure of all the distilleries of this type of spirit.

The number of active distilleries dropped from 72 in 1941 to 44 in 1942 and zero in 1944 but the determination of Sir Winston Churchill led in 1945 to production beginning again, as he described whisky as a “dollar maker of inestimable value”.

Re-openings, rebuildingandexpansioncontinueduntil1960and from themid-fiftiesproductionhadalreadyreached the level prior to WWI with on-going constant expansion until the end of 1976.

The growth stopped in 1977 at the end of the war in Vietnam which, it is sad to say, represented a great driving force for the growth of the volume of business for the USA and consequently also for whisky sales.The petrol crisis, which had already appeared on the scene in 1973, had a further peak following the dramatic developments of the 1979 Iranian crisis.

Thesinglemalts,almost impossibletofindoutsidetheirzonesofproductionupuntil1980,werealreadyac-knowledged as the best expression of Scotch and the role of Selectors and Independent Bottlers had a high profilewithenthusiastsworldwide.

From1980itcanbesaidtheispresent-dayhistory;theadventofbulkmaltings,themassificationandglobaliza-tionoftaste,thegreateravailabilityofthe“basicproducts”havemadetheabilitytofindone’swayinthemean-ders of present-day production increasingly important.

Thedifferencebetweenthevariousproductstodayisestablishednotonlybytheabilitytofindgreatsinglemalts,but above all by the expertise in recognizing the “potential” of the productions that, going into casks today, will perhaps only be able to give their best after long years of maturation.

Each Selector has the opportunity of distinguishing him or herself by combining selection with maturation and mixing, becoming a sort of Master Blender, not “at the origin” but “on the way”.In1994,the500thanniversaryofthefirstdocumentwrittenonwhiskywascelebrated.

President Roosvelt

14

Rum

Basic infoNel Catalogo Samaroli 2010 abbiamo descritto i diversi stili ed elencato le principali delle zone di produzione; nel Catalogo 2011 riportiamo di seguito in breve la Storia del Rum.La produzione del rum è attualmente diffusa in molte zone continentali dell’America centrale e meridionale.

Una miscela di diversi barili con differenti anni d’invecchiamento prende il nome di blended; millesimato può essere un rum risultato della miscela di più barili ma tutti di una singola annata.

I Rum Samaroli sono il prodotto di singoli barili selezionati uno per uno; quindi ogni nostro imbottigliamento è necessariamente millesimato.

UlteriorespecificitàSamarolièl’affinamentoeffettuatoinScoziadoveilclima meno caldo rispetto ai carabi consente invecchiamenti più lunghi e conseguentemente rum più puliti, netti, eleganti.

Molti nel settore, tra cui noi, sono dell’idea che le regole relative all’indicazione degli anni d’invecchiamento andrebbero chiarite, comuni-cate e standardizzate a tutela dei consumatori.

It is believed that the development of fermented beverages made from sugarcane juice began in ancient India or in China and spread from there.

One example of these ancestors is the “brum”, already produced by the Malays thousands of years ago.

In a 14th century document, Marco Polo speaks of an “excellent sugar wine” he was offered in what is currently Iran.

ThefirstdocumenteddistillationofrumtookplaceinLondonwithIndiansugarcane, around the 15th century, and only later was sugarcane from the Americas used.

Origins

IntheAmericas,ontheotherhand,thefirstdistillationofrumtookplaceontheCaribbeansugarcaneplantationsin the 17th century, when the slaves of the plantations discovered that molasses, the “waste” from the sugar refineryprocess,fermentedinalcohol.Later,distillationconcentratedthealcoholandremovedimpurities,producingthefirstrealrum.TraditionhasitthatrumfirstlyoriginatedontheIslandofBarbados.

Whateveritsorigin,thefirstCaribbeanrumswerenothighquality;infact,adocumentdated1651describesthe:“....the chief fuddling made on the island is Rumbullion, also called Kill-Divil, obtained from distilled sugarcanes, a hot, hellish and terrible liquor… “.

A short history of RumIntroductionRum, rhum or ron, in the past also ‘rumbo’ (an abbreviation of rumbowling or rumbullion):

a word in jargon referring to the noise if the distillation boilers (from “rumble”:); abbreviated word used by the monksandderivedfrom“saccharum”(Saccharumofficinarum:scientificnameforsugarcane).

Marco Polo

15

American Colonies The beverage developed in the Caribbean and then spread through all the American Colonies.Rum’s low cost facilitated the very rapid spread of the drink, above all in the poorer social classes and, to support the constantly growing de-mand,severaldistillerieswerealsobuiltonAmericansoil;thefirstwasfounded in 1664 on what is currently Staten Island. After ten years it was the turn of Boston – Massachusetts

RumproductionbecamethelargestmostflourishingindustryincolonialNew England.

The rum produced in this region became famous and was considered the best in the world for most of the 18th century and in some cases was accepted in Europe as trading currency, in the same way as pre-cious metals.

Estimates on rum drinking in the American colonies before the American War of Independence showed an an-nual per capita value amount of approximately 13 litres for each person: men, women and children.

The liquor was also used for medicinal purposes, as it was believed that it could cure pneumonia and other pa-thologies that, in those days, were incurable.

The result was that in the 17th and 18th centuries the demand for mo-lasses was exorbitant as well as contrasting the increase in demand for sugar in Europe, causing a constantly increasing labour demand for the sugar plantations in the Caribbean.

A tremendous triangulation was set up between Africa, the Caribbean and Europe: the exchange of slaves, molasses and sugar became a ratherprofitable“trade”,tothepointthat,accordingtosome,theinter-ruption of this business, caused by the 1764 Sugar Act, could have even contributed to causing the American Revolution.

The popularity of rum was proven by George Washington himself, who stood on a cask of Barbados rum on the occasion of his installation speech in 1789.

Restrictions on the import of rum from the British Caribbean islands along with the development of American whiskey led to a decline in the drink’s popularity in the United States.

Staten Island

16

Rum and the navy This association is mainly due to the fact that rum was the liquor locally available in the golden age of piracy in the Caribbean as well the imagery built up above all because of some literary works such as the poem “Fifteen men on the Dead Man’s Chest’” by Robert Louis Stevenson in his book “Treasure Island”.

There are also perversely economic reasons for the diffusion of the drink in the British Royal Navy; in fact, in 1655, following the invasion of the island of Jamaica, the Royal Navy immediately had locally produced rum available, with which the sailors’ daily ration of liquor was replaced.

The rum was distributed and drunk neat, or at the most mixed with lime or lemon juice; only in 1740 did the practice spread of diluting the rum with water to try to reduce the effect of the alcohol on the sailors; the resulting concoction (rum, lemon, water and in some cases honey) became known as grog.

Living conditions in these very savage lands were extremely hard and rum contributed significantly to forgetting, even if just temporarily, thestate of things

Onceagainrumbecametheobjectofatrafficthatwasnotparticularlyedifying;theconvictsettlersworkedthelandownedbytheofficersoftheNew South Wales Corps in exchange for rum. For this reason, they were also known as “The Rum Corps”.

Colonial Australia As already said, rum was often accepted as trading currency and this was also the case in New South Wales.

Alcoholism spread throughout the country and the attempt by William Bligh – governor of the colony in 1806 – to solve the problem by outlawing the use of rum as currency unleashed a revolt in 1808 by the New South Wales Corps, known as the “Rum Rebellion”, during which Bligh was arrested and imprisoned.

A legendary story links rum with a very famous personality of the naval world.

In fact, it is said that the body of Horatio Nelson, winner and victim at the Battle of Trafalgar, was preserved in a cask of rum in order to transport it back to England.

On arrival, the cask was opened, to discover that there was no longer any rum in it. Following an inspection once the body had been removed, it was clear that the sailors has bored a hole in the bottom of the cask and drunk all the rum it contained, along with Nelson’s blood.

It is therefore due to this legend that one of rum’s nicknames is: “Nelson’s Blood”.

William Bligh’ s arrest

Amm. Horatio Nelson

17

Caribbean RumAs mentioned previously, until the second half of the 19th century, rum was considered a liquor for poor workers duetoitslowcostandthefactthatitwasmuchlesselegantcomparedtorefinedEuropeanspiritsobtainedfromdouble distillation.

The Spanish Royal Development Commission had the idea of offering a prize to whoever improved the rum mak-ing process, thus enabling to create the right conditions for the rum market to expand.

Contemporary Rum Nowadays, rum is produced in practically every area of the world in which sugarcane can be grown and, strange-ly, very often the socio-political conditions of the countries that produce it do not seem much different from those that characterized the industry (unfortunately negatively) several centuries ago.

A countless number of small distilleries that had only been in activity for a short time were swept away by the log-ics of globalization, now asserted on all the most important markets; fortunately, there is however an increasing search for quality products and premium brands if you wish which, even if addressing a niche market, have the fundamental role of spreading and improving Rum culture.

Somanypeopledidalltheycouldtofindnewdistillationtechniquesandde-velop or improve the production methods, select raw material, etc. etc.

The icon of this process for improving quality was Don Facundo Bacardi Mas-so; after emigrating from Spain to Santiago (Cuba), in 1843 he experimented new distillation techniques and, applying the techniques in fashion in Europe, wasthefirsttousefilteringbymeansofcharcoal,cultivateddifferentspecial-ized yeasts strains and used American oak casks for ageing; all this led to the production of a smoother, more pleasant beverage.

This was the birth of modern rum and with it Bacardí y Compañía, founded by Don Facundo in 1862.

As already explained, Rum production of rum is currently widespread in many continental zones of Central and South America.

Don Facundo Bacardi Masso

GUATEMALA

MARITIUS

INDIA

SUD AFRICA AUSTRALIA

FILIPPINE

FIJIMADACASCAR

COSTARICAPANAMA

CARAIBI

VENEZUELAGUYANA

BRASILE

MES

SICO

18

Samaroli 2011 Catalogue

The Whisky and Rum 70 cl Selection; made in the classic 70cl format, with the char-acteristicshapeoftheflasksusedinthe15thcenturyforbottlesofwhiskyandrum.

The Whisky and Rum 50 cl Selection; the 50cl range has the aim of enabling a larger number of bottles to be purchased and thus a larger number of types of spirit, without a proportionate increase in costs.

Samaroli Library; the “Library” range has the aim of bringing together the Samaroli Selections that have become extremely rare; this selection also includes new reference productsthatareimpossibletofindonthemarket.

Alongwiththese,ourCataloguealsoincludesaglassdesignedspecificallybySilvanoS. Samaroli for the correct measure and the best tasting of High Quality spirits.

The Samaroli 2011 Catalogue is based on three ranges, plus a fourth dedicated to the United States, where leg-islationrequiresthespecific750mlformat.

Whisky Selection 70 cl

HighlandIsland

SpeysideIslay

CampbeltownVatted

Blended

Rum Selection 70 cl

CubaJamaica

BarbadosGuadaloupe

Demerara

Rum Selection 50 cl

FijiBarbadosJamaica

GuadalopeBrasile

GrenadaYehmon No Age

Library Samaroli

Whisky, Cognac, Rum

( Coilltean®, NoAge®, Glen Cawdor® e Yehmon® are registered trademarks )

N.B. – tasting notes are establish at the time of bottling; consequently, products with long maturation in bottles could have changed their initial characteristics, further refining their character and normally increasing their

elegance and finesse.


Highland (North)Isle of JuraSpeyside

IslayVatted

19


Blair Athol - Information

Blair Athol is one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries, founded in 1798 by John Stewart and Robert Robertson near the small picturesque town of Pitlochry.

It was renovated mid-way through the decade between 1820 and 1830 and two more granaries and malting floors wereadded in 1880.

The water used is that of the Allt Dour “the burn of the otter” whichflowsabovethesnowline.

The malts of this zone have generally less body and are sweeter than otherHighlandmalts; they have floral aromasandadryfinishtypicalofalltheHighlands.This is one of the few distilleries in the whole of Scotland still in activity even if founded before 1840.

Highland (Central)

Fruity with delicate peat; malty, dry and sugary with a hint of plain chocolate. Reasonably sweet and very clean.

Blair Athol 1989

bottled: 2007

Technical tasting notes:

20


Well balanced nose.

Vanilla and toffee-coated almonds. Bouquetofwhiteflowersandhay.A phenolic hint in the aftertaste.Smooth, and easily distinguishable taste with a pronounced evolved touch.

Very interesting.

Glencadam - Information

This beautiful impeccabily maintained distillery was estab-lished in 1825, just a year after the legalization of large-scale distillation. Since then, numerous owners have operated the distillery, us-ing Glencadam to produce excellent blends.

Fortunately, every owner was careful to preservare the fasci-nating characteristics of Glencadam whsky.

Since 2003, the distillery has been owned by Angus Dundee Distillers Plc, which for the first time in its history, bottled aGlencadam Highland malt commercially as a 15 years old ex-pression in 2005

Glencadam 1985

bottled: 2005


Highland (Central)

21


Well balanced bouquet with slight peat and pleasant “medicinal” hints to the nose and on the palate.

Mature with a pleasant aftertaste. Excellent.

Highland Park - Information

Highland Park has existed for over 200 years and been pro-duced during the reigns of six sovereigns; it is now recognized as one of the best Highland Malt Whiskies.

There are no accelerated maturation programmes and today’s processes meet the same exacting standards as always.

This does not mean that the distillery is not open to innovation, but only when it does not jeopardise the quality of the whisky.“The tradition of the productive processes, which dates back to 1798, makes Highland Park one of the world’s most re-spected single malts.

Orkney is unique. The history of Scotland, is not the history of the Orkneys. The Orcadians are proud of Highland Park whisky as it forms a part of their heritage.”

Freely taken from: F. Paul Pacult, Top 110 Spirits, Spirit Journal June 2005.

Island

Highland Park 1981

bottled: 2006


22

Technical tasting Notes:

Intense persuasive nose with a slightly peaty touch. Sweet and vegetable tones combined with excellent harmony. Warm, round, full and expressive on the palate.

Cragganmore - Information

Founded in 1869 by John Smith, ex manager at the Macallan, Glenlivet and Wishaw distilleries and considered the most experi-enced distiller of his day.

After his death, in 1923, the distillery changed ownership several times, before passing to United Distillers.

Thedistilleryhasflat-toppedspiritstillsinsteadofthetraditional“swan neck” types. Appreciated by blenders, has always also been considered an excellent single malt that was very hard to findupuntiltheendoftheeighties.

The fundamental dates are:

1869 John Smith founded the Cragganmore distillery.1917 Distillery was closed and reopened in 1918 with electric lighting.1923 John Smith died and White Horse Dist. Ltd. bought Cragganmore. 1964 The stills were doubled, from 2 to 4.

Speyside

Cragganmore 1993 Plain Wood

bottled: 2007


23


A sweet rounded nose with an excellent balance between fruit, flowersandmineralnotes.

Elegant and very good.

Mortlach - Information

Mortlachwasthefirstdistillerybuilt(in1823)inDufftownandcanbeconsideredtheoppositeofitsfamousneighbour,Glenfiddich,with which it has the very large dimensions in common.

It hosts the whisky industry’s oldest collection of copper stills (which can be admired from a raised “belvedere”).

Their different forms and dimensions give distinct nuances that contribute to forming the pleasant complexity and decisive charac-ter of the whisky produced here.

In 1877 the plant was expanded, passing from three to six stills that are the heart of the unique “partial triple distillation” system.

Mortlach is thus highly requested for strengthening blended whis-ky with its complexity, so is hardly ever available as a single malt, which is really worthwhile trying.

Speyside

Mortlach 1988 Sherry Wood

bottled: 2006


24


Elegant but with character. Harmonically complex bouquet with the typical elements of Speyside malts, such as honey, ether, pears and vanilla at the finish.Well balanced.

A whisky of days gone by.

Linkwood - Information

Built in 1821 by Peter Brown when whisky was still more or less illegal, began actual production in 1825.

The records show that Peter Brown ran the distillery until his death in 1868.

The distillery was entirely rebuilt in 1873 and again in 1963, with the refurbishment keeping part of the water-powered ma-chinery.

It is now owned by Diageo and runs two distilleries alongside each other.

It has always had unusually large stills, Itsmagnificent spirit stills produce one of themost fragrantSpeyside single malts.

Speyside

Linkwood 1984

bottled: 2009


25


Smooth,roundanddelicatebouquetwithsoftflower,hazelnutand honey notes.

Phenolicaromaintheaftertaste.Moredefinitearomasemerge afterwards, amply expanding.

Typical Speyside touches such as honey, heather, pear, va-nillaandcustardinthefinish.

Well balanced and sinuous with a lengthy persistence.

Speyside

Linkwood 1987 Port Pipe Finish

bottled: 2003


26


Full-bodied and round, slightly smoky, sweet and clean nose confirmedbythepalate.

Excellent aftertaste.

Excellent.

Speyside

Linkwood 1990 Sherry Wood

bottled: 2006


27


A fragrant grass and vanilla nose, rather astringent, but deli-cate and aromatic. Sweetish with a touch of salty aftertaste and pleasantly long finish.

Glenburgie - Information

In 1810, William Paul founded the distillery with the name “Kiln-flat”; in1871 itwas licensed toCharlesHayandchanged itsname to Glenburgie.

As with many distilleries, it changed ownership several times; in 1936 Ballantines bought it to use the valuable product in its blended whiskies.

Inthesixtiesitusedaheadforthemodifiedstill,onwhichthelongneckwasreplacedbyadrum-shapedrectifierinordertoproduce various styles of whisky according to the number of rectifierplates;thisstillwasnamed“Lomond”,afterthenearbyLoch,closetowhichstoodtheInverlevendistillery,thefirsttouse this technology.

Glenburgie adopted these stills, producing two different malts (Glenburgie and Glencraig) but in 1981 reverted to using tradi-tional stills.

This very rare single malt represents Speyside whiskies’ fi-nesse very well.

Glenburgie is now controlled by Pernod Ricard (Pernod’s Chi-vas Bros group).

Speyside

Glenburgie 1989 Plain Wood

bottled: 2008


28


Pleasantfruitandfloralnosewithtracesofvanillaandliquorice.

Smoky and rich on the palate.

An excellent all-round whisky.

Benrinnes - Information

Benrinnes is one of the six distilleries in the immediate vicinity of the Ben and uses this precious clear water to produce its malt whisky.

Founded in 1826, in 1835 it had to be completely rebuilt fol-lowingaflood.

Bought by the Edward family in 1864, it had a great qualitative leap with the arrival of young Alexander Edward who, at the endofthe19thcentury,beganproducingwithahigherprofile.

Followingfiredamagein1896,thenewlyreconstructedprem-ises kept the farm/distillery structure intact and introduced the use of electricity.

Benrinnes adopted triple distillation – rare but not unique in Scotland – which enabled to produce spirits with approximate-ly 76% abv, more than those habitually made with double distil-lation.

At Benrinnes it is possible to see the so-called worm tubs, tra-ditional pipes immersed in cold water to condense the vapours produced by the spirit stills.

Speyside

Benrinnes 1996

bottled: Aug 2008


29


Greatcharacter:firmandlightatthesametime.

Rich bouquet with a hint of seaweed, a wild touch, peat, men-tholandnotesofsmokeinthefinish.

Persuasive and elegant.

Macduff - Information

The Macduff distillery takes its name from the small town standing on the Deveron estuary, once a spa resort and op-posite the better known town of Banff.

Macduff single malts are very rare and the distillery does not use its name for the bottled whisky it produces, but rather the more “recognizable” name of Glen Deveron.

The distillery is modern, as it was completed in 1960. Strategi-cally located between the river and the coast, it is very impor-tant and extremely attractive.

Macduff began with a single pair of stills in 1960. Two years later, a third single still was added; then in 1968 a fourth, reach-ing the present-day set-up of two pairs.

An interesting feature of the Macduff distillery is that it has its own cooperage.

Speyside

Macduff 1990 Sherry Fino Cask

bottled: 2009


30


Strong and delicate at the same time.

An old-style whisky that fully reproduces the features that made the “Glenlivet district” famous.

Honey, vanilla, heather, ripe pears and liquorice.Ancient elegance and full harmony.

With a smooth, silky and ample taste.

A really appetizing whisky..

Glen Grant - Information

Began in 1823, when whisky distillation was illegal.

In 1840, brothers John and James Grant decided to acquire a license.

In 1872, the founders of Glen Grant Distillery had died and the young James “The Major” Grant (born in 1847), who had always been extremely interested in the distillery and had in-herited the company and the “Glen Grant” name from his uncle (John Grant), had to show that he was a worthy successor.

There are countless legends regarding “The Major”. An inno-vator, he certainly contributed to raising the quality and setting new higher product standards.

ItissaidthathewasthefirstmanintheHighlandstoownacar,andGlenGrantwasthefirstdistillerytouseelectricity.

HeintroducedthetallslenderstillsandpurifierswhichcreatedthefreshmaltyflavourandclearcolourtypicalofGlenGrantwhisky to this day.

Speyside

Glen Grant 1985

bottled: 2007


31


Predominant medicinal and iodine nose, but nevertheless well amalgamated in an overall aromatic structure that supports and accompanies it.

Medicinal herbs, vanilla, leather and liquorice in the back-ground complete the expression.

Remarkably persistent on the palate, where the typical Islay saltiness predominates.

Caol Ila - Information

Caol Ila (Gaelic for “Sound of Islay” and pronounced Cool EELA) was founded in 1846 by Hector Henderson.

The distillery was not successful and in 1854 changed hands, when it was bought by Norman Buchanan, owner of the Isle of Jura Distillery.

In 1863 the company was bought by Bulloch Lade & Co. of Glasgow and since 1880 over 147,000 litres of whisky have been produced every year.

After various other changes in ownership, Scottish Malt Distill-ers Ltd. purchased 100% of the company in 1930.

Closed during World War II, production continued afterwards until 1972, when the entire distillery was demolished. A larger distillery was built in the original architectural style and produc-tion began again in 1974.

Islay

Caol Ila 1984

bottled: 2007


32


Verypenetratingrefinedbouquet.

Impetuous but at the same time clear.

Mature but lively.Hard and also smooth, clean and at the same time ample.

Has great character.As deep as the oceanPowerful - doesn’t pass unnoticed.

Bunnahabhain - Information

Bunnahabhain stands on the shores of the Sound of Islay, which separates Islay from Jura on the east.The ship that seems to be waiting to unload malt has been there since 1974, when it ran aground on the rocks.Tourists once bought Bunnahabhain (‘Boon-a-havn’) almost by mistake.For a certain period it was the top selling brand at the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre in Edinburgh.It is one of the soft Islay malts, founded in 1881 – the same year as Bruichladdich – and for the same reason: to meet the rising demand for whisky for the blending industry.Duetotheisolatednatureofthezone,thefirstownershadtobuild roads, houses and grocery shops for the distillery work-ers, as well as a school for their children.Bunnahabhain became an example of a self-sufficient com-munity.The malt whiskies produced on the isle of Islay are generally phenolic, pungent and salty; since 1883, Bunnahabhain has contradicted this commonplace, having always produced a smooth almost winey whisky, with an impressive constancy and regularity.A few years after the construction of Bunnahabhain, the own-ers joined up with two other distilleries, forming Highland Dis-tilleries.Closed for a short period in the early eighties and re-opened almost immediately, since 1963 has two pairs of stills.

Islay

Bunnahabhain 1978 Sherry Butt

bottled: 2008


33


Soft fruity nose, aroma of vanilla and peat; vegetable and liquoriceinthefinish.

Ample, round and intriguing taste, in which liquorice stands strongly out again.

Very pleasant, with a very graceful taste.

Excellent.

Glen Scotia - Information

Was built in 1832 by Guild Stewart and John Galbraith, even iftheofficialfoundationdateis1835andthelabelsstillshow1837, i.e. the date from which it was sold with this brand.

From 1895 Duncan MacCallum helmed the company, until 1928 when, due to the prohibition period, he committed sui-cide, drowning in 1930 in Campbeltown Loch.

Campbeltown

Glen Scotia 1992 Fresh Fill Sherry

bottled: 2009


34


This strong but elegant vatted whisky with harmonious elegant bouquet, unfolds its qualities in slow succession.

Perfectlybalanced,veryaromatic,infinitepersistenceandtherightbalancebetweenbitterandsweet,flowers

Round velvety smooth body and complex character.

Excellent.

Vatted

Pure Malt 1993

bottled: 2007


35


A harmonious vatting of whiskies aged from ten to over forty years in special sherry and oak casks, produced exclusively by Scotland’s last artisan distilleries, which still use the same procedure as a hundred years ago.

NoAge is the only whisky for which the reduction of original alcohol lasts for no less than twelve months, as was the cus-tom in the 19th century.

All the batches are re-blended every two-three months. A small percentage of water is added to it, so that it is gradually absorbed by the whisky’s various organoleptic components.This practice has been abandoned by everyone else, as it was too expensive.

NoAgedoesnotundergoartificialcolouring,norisitsubmit-tedtochillfiltration,whichcouldremoveitsoriginalcompo-nents and natural aromas.

Vatted

Edition 2011

bottled: 2011


36


A harmonious blend of single malt and grain whiskies matured for over 17years in special sherry and oak casks.

Lightrefinedbouquetthatgiveswaytoaverypowerfulfinishfull ofcharacter.

Smooth and delicious.

A really intriguing dram.

Blend

Fusion 1990

bottled: 2007


37

38

Rum Selection 70 cl

Spanish Style

It’s “branches” are Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezue-laand,withmoredefinedandevolvedtraditions,Cuba,PuertoRico and the Dominican Republic.


Cuba

Verypenetratingrefinedbouquet.Impetuous but at the same time clear.

Mature but lively.Hard and also smooth, clean and at the same time ample.

Has great character.As deep as the ocean.Powerful - doesn’t pass unnoticed.

Cuba 2003

bottled: 2011 - Matured in Scotland

39


Spicy mineral aroma and aged vanilla.

Vegetable and fruity hints in the background.Alltheprimaryassociationsonthepalatewithnutsinthefinish.

Lengthy aromatic persistence.

English Style

Through the centuries, English traditions left their sign more than others.

Barbados and Jamaica remain in the English tradition, but in a very different manner; in our opinion the Fiji Islands’ rum should also be included in this “family”.

The country with some of the world’s best molasses, often sold to many other producer countries.

Many distilleries are closing and only the search for old barrels will be able to ensure tradition’s survival.

The Jamaican style is the most characteristic, and its Rums are the strongest, most intense and sharp, to the point of being unforgettable.

The pot stills used give them an aromatic characteristic that is unique worldwide and, mixed with the rums produced with col-umn stills, enable to obtain balanced, vigorous, perfect blends.

Jamaica

Jamaica 1993


Rum Selection 70 cl

40


Slightly smoky with light hints of fruit and vanilla.

Pleasantmedicinalandherbalnotes,spicyfloralaromas,floraland toasted nuances of nuts.

Enters the palate decisively with a pleasant spicy sensation and an aftertaste of liquorice and tertiary aromas.

A great characteristic Barbados rum.

Barbados

Tradition has it that rum originated on the Island of Barbados.

The oldest Rum distillery in the world was set up there in 1702: Mount Gay.

BarbadoshasaRumculturethatgreatlyreflectsthecharacterof the population; here there are some extremely expert, well known and esteemed Rum connoisseurs.

The rum has a unique style, considered by many as the arche-type, to be taken as a reference point.

Barbados

Barbados 1996


Rum Selection 70 cl

41


Fine,delicateandsubtle,neverthelessstrongandwelldefined.

Distilled in the French Antilles and then matured in Scotland.

A complex, often impenetrable character – like that of a Lady.

Immaterial,fragrantandveryfinetaste,butatthesametimeup-front and irremovable.

French Style

In Haiti there is French style rum, also typical of Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Guadeloupe is a French protectorate and, due to the lack of large-scale tourism, has kept its Creole culture and traditions almost intact.

The shape of the island well represents the dual geographic and rum style found in the Caribbean.

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe 1998


Rum Selection 70 cl

42


Scotland’s microclimate, in which this extraordinary rum de-veloped, has left us a heritage of an ample complex aromatic concentration.

Vanilla, sugarcane, leather and tobacco emerge, as well as pleasant tertiary aromas.

We’ll leave connoisseurs the pleasure of discovering the devel-opment and numerous intermediate details that the glass will be able to give those who have the patience to “listen”.

Demerara Style

Trinidad combines Spanish and English style and traditions, as does British Guyana, south east of Venezuela, which embod-ies the so-called Demerara style.

The most cosmopolitan country in South America inherited from the colonial period practically all the methods of distillation and ageing which, when combined, resulted in a great variety of styles.

On the banks of the Rio Demerara, there are various plants producing Demerara rum, considered by all connoisseurs throughout the world a category unto itself.

Founded in 1770, Demerara Distillers is currently the only pro-ducer of Demerara rum.

It owns thirty sugar mills and eleven distilleries, which use all types of still, enabling completely different rums to be prepared.

Demerara

Demerara Dark 1990


Rum Selection 70 cl

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44

Whisky Selectio 50 cl

Clynelish - Information

According to the “Report of the Select Committee on the Distill-ery in the Different Parts of Scotland (1798-99)”, distillation ex-panded considerably in this zone around the end of the 1800s, but currently only Clynelish is still in activity.

In 1967, a second distillery (Brora) was built, trying to copy as exactly as possible the old distillery’s stills.

They managed to achieve a result very similar to the old-style Clynelish product – light iodine, but a much softer style than the “Islay style”.

Opinions, as always, are varied: Clynelish is for those who are lookingforgreaterrefinement,evenifsometimesatthecostofstrength and consistence.

This is the beauty of the world of malt whisky.


Highland (North)

Intriguing, ample and with a great bouquet. Complex with wide intense mineral, fruity with vegetable touches.

Sweet,“hardlywoody”,liquoricefinish.Greatcharacter,withalong elegant taste.

Clynelish 1995

bottled: 2009

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Jura -Information

Jura is close to the mainland, but its landscape is completely different.

The island has just one road, one town and one distillery.

There are reports of a distillery in the 17th century, but the cur-rent plant was reopened in the mid 1900s, and a modern distill-ery built on the site of the old ruined one.

Jura’s very softwater,which flows over the island’s quartziterock, gives its single malts their lightness and pungent aroma.

The distillery can be considered on the “borderline” between Islay and the Highlands and, in fact, its products are a worthy synthesis of these two important zones.


Isle of Jura

Clear and limpid, like its colour. Gentleness and vivacity, trans-parency and discretion are its characteristic facets.

The saltiness of seawater, limpid, terse and innocent, seaweed andseaspraywithafloralsweetnessarethevariousassocia-tions the nose senses.

The palate is curious to know how this enigmatic nose will pres-ent itself. The surprise is a delicate pleasant fullness, acacia sweetness,finefreshnessandadelicaterefreshingpresencethat continually invites one to take another sip.

Poetry is particularly suited to certain elusive endless emotions: “Clear, sweet fresh water where she, the only one who seemed woman to me rested her beautiful limbs….”

F. Petrarca

Isle of Jura 1997

bottled: 2011


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Glenlossie - Information

Founded in 1876 by John Duff and two partners, Glenlossie rep-resented a “choice of lifestyle”, rather that the setting up of a business.In fact, John Duff was the manager of the Glendronach distillery located near Huntly and was well-known as a great expert in making malt whisky.

• 1876 Glenlossie launched• 1895 Establishment of Glenlossie-Glenlivet Distillery Co Ltd• 1896 Reconstruction of the distillery• 1919 Purchase by Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. (SMD)• 1962 The production line was expanded, increasing the stills from four to six

GlenlossieislocatednotfarfromElgin,nestlingunderafir-cladhill, and the water it uses is collected from streams in the Man-noch Hills in a reservoir to the south of the distillery.


Speyside

Spices and fruit is its synthesis. Nutmeg, cinnamon, and lime wood: it is the balsamic-spicy note that gives it a clearer more long-lastingdefinition,whichisfilledoutwithtoffeepear,quinceapple, candied orange and pine resin toffee.

The complexity of the nose combines very harmoniously with the taste, the mouth is filled with a well-balanced series ofsweet delicacies, kept lively and fresh by quite a strong acid vein, the balsamic nuance is delicate but fundamental for sup-porting its full body.

Inthewarmthofthefireside,watchingtherapidlyfadingday-light of a winter afternoon, enjoying candied fruit, toffees and jelly sweets, while the wind whips the trees outside.

Glenlossie 1996

bottled: 2009


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Glen Moray - Information

The Glen Moray distillery nestles on the banks of the River Lossie near the ancient city of Elgin, “capital” of the Speyside region, began its activity in 1897 and had to stop production for a period in the 1920s; from 1958 it was rebuilt and expanded.

Glen Moray is situated below the level of the Lossie, a turbu-lentriverthatoftenoverflows,astheywellknowatthedistill-ery,whichhasbeenfloodedseveraltimesthroughtheyears.

Its products usually mature in casks that previously contained white wine, a characteristic that gives its single malts a light enchanting herbal note not taken into great consideration by the majority of people.


Speyside

Classic, fresh, clean, sincere, fragrant and mineral.

Cereals, yeasts, saltiness, graphite, honey, grapes preserved in alcohol. It explodes on the palate - intense, persistent, im-mediate, muscular, young, caressing, and tasty.

The taste surprises, as to the nose its character seems less im-petuous, less multi-faceted, more silent, more reserved, more difficult to conquerand instead, it shows it is surprisingandgenerous.

The exploit is its signature, a trump card its style, the right hand of cards its game and a hidden treasure its archetype.Its character can only be completely understood at the end: balanced, smooth, vivacious and long.

Glen Moray 1992

bottled: 2009


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Strathisla - Information

Not only probably the oldest distillery in Scotland (1786), but perhaps also the most attractive distillery in the world.On arrival, one has the sensation of being in the cottage of Hansel and Gretel.Strathisla began as distillery Milltown and had a series of own-ers until 1830, when William Longmore began his 38 years of ownership.Rebuilt almost from the foundations followingafire in1876,has kept its exterior appearance unchanged since.

In 1870 the name was changed to Strathisla and since 1950 has been owned by Seagram, bought via its subsidiary, Chivas Brothers.The two pairs of steam-heated stills were increased to three in 1965.Normally produces very fruity, sweet and herbal whiskies, with asucculentcreamyfinishandpleasantlyphenoliccharacter.

It is the predominant malt in Chivas Regal, as well as a series of other blends, including 100 Pipers.


Speyside

An excellent combination of the “nose” of the skilful selector and the patience of the person responsible for its maturing.

This bottle was conceived twenty years ago and born after ma-turing entirely in our warehouses and our casks.

The taster will discover the elegance of a Speyside of old, with touches of pear and non-iodized peat.

Spirit also suited to very long evolution in bottles, so forget it and discover it again when you want to gratify all your senses.

Strathisla 1991

bottled: 2011


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Tamdhu - Information

Tamdhu has a pair of original features that make visiting particu-larly enjoyable. It is the only distillery in Scotland with a Saladin Maltings Box still in use, and the visitors centre is the Victorian-style ex railway station.Tamdhu was built in 1896 by a group of blenders, but just three years later was sold to Highlands Distillers.Production was stopped from 1927 until 1947, when it was ex-panded and later rebuilt in 1970, so the distillery has buildings from various periods.

The Saladin Box was adopted in 1951 and, according to the owners, continues to meet all the distillery’s malt requirements.The drying kiln is modern, with hot air blown through the malt, reducing time by half.The peat is also dug locally, burned in a small furnace that pro-duces the smoke which, mixed with the drying air, achieves the appropriate level of smokiness to give the Tamdhu spirits their characteristic aroma.Only in 1972 was a second pair of stills added, joined by a third in 1975.Its whisky is normally sold as “no age statement” single malts and is used to make the Famous Grouse blend.


Speyside

The 50cl series is just at its second year of life and this is pre-cisely why we decided to highlight it with a product that will be difficulttorepeat.It too was selected “at the origin” by Silvano Samaroli, matured in our premises passing from the original 224 RLA (Regauged Litres of Alcohol) to approximately 130, thus losing approxi-mately 100 RLA in 23 years.This “harmonious reduction” is the dream of every enthusiast and results in a spirit that is at the peak of its maturation and development.Tamdhu is an unusual product characterized by the “home-made” peat; we don’t want to deprive you enthusiasts of the excitement of discovering such unique.

Tamdhu 1988

bottled: 2011


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Glenburgie - Information

In 1810, William Paul founded the distillery with the name “Kiln-flat”; in1871itwaslicensedtoCharlesHayandchangeditsname to Glenburgie.As with many distilleries, it changed ownership several times; in 1936 Ballantines bought it to use the valuable product in its blended whiskies.Inthesixtiesitusedaheadforthemodifiedstill,onwhichthelongneckwasreplacedbyadrum-shapedrectifierinordertoproduce various styles of whisky according to the number of rectifierplates;thisstillwasnamed“Lomond”,afterthenearbyLoch,closetowhichstoodtheInverlevendistillery,thefirsttouse this technology.Glenburgie adopted these stills, producing two different malts (Glenburgie and Glencraig) but in 1981 reverted to using tra-ditional stills.This very rare single malt represents Speyside whiskies’ fi-nesse very well. Glenburgie is now controlled by Pernod Ricard (Pernod’s Chi-vas Bros group).


Speyside

The expression is subtle and elegant, young, embracing, el-egant,floral,fruityandspicy.Afinesilk-smoothfabric:freshchiffonwithyellowflowers.Effective transparency.Onthepalateitisrefinedanddecisive,measuredandpersis-tent, harmonious and full of character, warm and lively, precise and fascinating, stimulating and smooth. The play between its two characters is never based on divi-sion, but perfect balance and fusion.A dualism that is a successful combination.Mimosa and almond, acacia and candied ginger, coriander and honey can all be recognized.An authentic Pashmina, soft and ancient, exotic and timeless, precious and essential.

Glenburgie 1980

bottled: 2009


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Laphroaig - Information

DefinitelyoneofIslay’smostfamousdistilleriesandofficiallyinactivity since 1815, even if some people indicate 1810 as the construction date.

Founder Donald Johnston followed in the footsteps of his fa-ther, who founded Lagavulin.

Parts of the original buildings, including the malthouse, are still used in the production cycle to this day.

The in-house maturation, the stills’ necks and lyne arms, the selection of the foreshot (head) and feint (tail), done later than in other distilleries, and the maturation, carried out exclusively in American oak barrels, are the elements that are combined to ensure the “saltiness and sea air” that are its trademark fea-tures.


Islay

The bouquet opens musky and earthy, immediately after, in the chorus of sensations, the voice of smoothness stands out, with vanilla and a complex fruity hint, which unfolds for complete discovery in the mouth.

Then comes an explosion of myrtle, juniper berries and the buttery sweetness of pollen dissolves the initial austere char-acter.

The sweet notes round off and refine the form, the smokynotes support the structure: it is a successful combination of smoke and cream.

The perfume of heather whipped by a salty wind.

Afirethathasgoneout,underalindentree,inMay.

Laphroaig 1996

bottled: 2009


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Islay

Incisive, intense and smooth character.In the contents of its character’s richness and power, the nose senses the green leaves of Lapsang Souchong tea, dates and biscuits.

In the mouth it unfolds round and embracing, and keeps the taste buds occupied for a long time with sweet, caressing sen-sations, thefinishhas the freshdecisivepersistenceofhay,which completes anddefines the rhubarb caramel in a longfarewell.

An image would depict it as a round hill on a late sunny af-ternoon, with the cut grass drying into hay, in the shade of a pergola we are offered tea with toast and maple syrup.

Islay Vatted 1992 / 1993

bottled: 2009 / 2011


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54

Rum Selection 50 cl


Fiji

Has a powerful, austere, serious temperament, but is also smooth, ardent and sweet.

The nose is a feast and a challenge: balm and caramel, sea airandripefruit,fleshyflowersandsweetspices.

Blue and green, hot sand on the beach and cool mountain rocks, sweet sun and liquid wind.

A clear luminous taste, like the light of its places of origin; it is impossible to ignore the similarity with the landscape of the Fiji Islands, real paradises where opposites live side by side and the Tropic of Cancer is mitigated by the uplands of the volcanic formations.

An extraordinary tasting persistence that equals the memory of the images it conjures up.

Itslongfinishisfineandelegant,itsroundsoftnessmeasuredandveryrefined.

Rare and not to be missed, like the journey it brings to mind.

Fiji 2001


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Jamaica

Clear, severe, unusual, powerful, original, elegant and intimate.

In the mouth it gives a long fast jump forward, leading to an ample persistent series of sensations that, originating from an intense pungent mineral nature, exploring all the descriptive categories.

Fruity: banana, pineapple; spicy: star anis, cinnamon.Floral: linden, honey.

Mineral: salty.

Mysterious, enigmatic, indecipherable, magnetic, serious and strong.

An athlete concentring before the decisive performance.An amiable vigorous heart using track stand technique, but ready to sprint off.

Its objective is the medal, a cerebral, well calculated conquest of the podium and the public.

Jamaica 2000


Rum Selection 50 cl

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Demerara

Full, rich, high quality.

Persistent Tamarind, vanilla, nuts and unsugared coffee.

Complex, ample and articulate with a smooth warm structure.

Multidimensional and very decisive with great expressive strength in the mouth.

As deep as unconscious thoughts.

A very rare quality Rum that reaches unbeatable levels in its range.

Demerara Dark Rum 1994


Rum Selection 50 cl

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Brasile

From the Fiji Islands to Brazil?

We accepted this challenge, offering a spirit with 12 years of ageing that does not have a great deal in common with cacha-ça.

Be strict with yourselves and with us; we anxiously await your opinions.

A surprising nose, exotic fruit and cherries preserved in alcohol emerge from a bouquet with rare strength and intensity con-cealed by a pleasant waxiness. The origin is clear and evident on the palate, with a succulent sweetnessandinfinitearomaticpersistence.

Brasile 1999


Rum Selection 50 cl

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Grenada

Impressive to the nose and on the palate.

Our selections rarely enter the Hispanic area of the Caribbean.

This Grenada is the exception that proves the rule.

White chocolate and balsamic touches are the sign of extraor-dinary ageing, unique for this type of product.

Thepalate isfloodedby the typicalwarmthofSpanishstylethat is well harmonized by the 18 years’ ageing and our man-agement of the bottling.

Grenada 1993


Rum Selection 50 cl

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Blend

Asfarasweknow,thisisthefirsttimeachallengeofthistypehas been undertaken.

The “challenge” consists in the search for Perfection, in the attempt to interpret products from the various corners of the Earth and from various periods of maturation to obtain a uni-cum that manages to express the most diverse dissonant di-mensions, leaving to the individual person’s perception the ability to identify the one he or she prefers.

Strength, Elegance, Sweetness, Character, Sharpness, Smoothness, Ampleness, Depth …

This is and will be in the future the No Age Declared Yehmon Rum.

As for whisky, this Samaroli Project aims at adding something unique to the experience of Rum enthusiasts too.

Yehmon Rum No Age Declared


Rum Selection 50 cl

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Library Samaroli 70 clIn the Library Selection, two types of references will be allowed:

This does not mean that all the “very limited available products” will become part of the Library Selection, but that the references exceptional will be further evaluated when and if time decrees an extra “added value” for them.

Some examples:

Ardmore 1977, Ardmore itself states that there are selections 30 years and over are only available in the USA; so our bottles, as well as being incredibly good are therefore objective rarities.

Blend 1965; otherwise unobtainable with 41 year in casks, plus 5 years in bottles and, above all, is entitled to indicate the year (i.e. all the spirits it contains are only from 1965)! Elegance in its purest form, run a blindfold test with other spirits of the same age and you’ll be ensured a hands-on experience of the difference.

Longrow1987;thereareonlytwoadjectives:superlativeandunfindable!

Absolute Rarsuch as the Tamnavullin 1968 or Tomintoul 1967for us, absolute rarity means that the availability of this type of cask is truly unique. Even if unique, cakes that we select are nevertheless assessed for their current quality, not for the aura of exceptionalitywhichsomethingthatishardtofindinevitablyfeatures.Alsoasanexample,werecentlyrejectedaveryrareGlenfiddich1964,asitdidnotmatchour“qualityselec-tion” criteria.

So it must be clear that old does not necessarily mean good.

In fact, it has already been widely demonstrated that bottle maturation of spirits further improves the quality of the product, increasing its elegance and complexity.

Through time, it is equally inevitable that the rarity of a single selection increases as the number of units of product available diminishes.

An example of rarity to be found in our selection is the Bowmore 1982, since as far as we are aware, there are no casks of Bowmore older than 1981 on the market.

- excellent,- an extremely limited number at the outset,- made even more excellent and rare by time.

Samaroli References – very limited availabilityThe Samaroli Selections have as their common denominator the fact that they are the result of the selection of single casks chosen with very strict qualitative criteria.

So the bottles thus:

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Longrow - Information

Longrow is currently one of the three 3 single malt produced by Springbank.Every year, obviously after having been cleaned, the Spring-bank distilling apparatus is dedicated to producing the “heavi-er” Longrow

As opposed to Springbank, which is partially triple distilled, Longrow is the result of one, more traditional, double distilla-tion.

The original Longrow distillery was closed in 1896 and Alfred Barnard described the distillery as the quaintest he had ever visited.

The only concession to modernity was a steam engine used to power the malt mill, while all the rest was done manually.

Today it is one of the warehouses used to stock Springbank’s products

The whisky in our Library must be considered a real rarity.

An original 1864 Longrow was sold for £ 7,200 in 2001.


Campbelltown

Full-bodied and rich with a pleasant medicinal touch, mature.

Cleanamplefinishwithamatchbetweennoseandpalate.

Chewy, intense and pulpy with a long graceful taste.

When this catalogue went to press 12 bottles were available.

Longrow 1987

bottled: 2007

Library Samaroli 70 cl

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Bowmore - Information

A well-known characteristic of the Bowmore distillery is the fa-mous nearby Round Church built in 1769, with a circular layout to ensure that there were no corners in which the Devil could hide while trying to tempt the congregation. The distillery was built by David Simson in 1779, so is one of Scotland’s oldest and the quality of its products has always been very good.

As well as being a landowner and distiller, David Simson was also a canny businessman; in fact he handled the freight of his whisky to the mainland directly with his own transport, even reaching as far as Glasgow, thus distinguishing himself from his competitors and winning an important share of the market.

From 1892 for over 50 years, there was a succession of own-ers until, in 1963, Stanley Morrison Ltd. bought the distillery and made Bowmore a famous brand throughout the world that won countless awards in contests and tasting sessions.The pagoda has a sort of unusual onion-shaped form as if they were “stolen from the Moscow Kremlin”.

The still house hosts four copper stills, quite unusual now in modern distilleries, where stainless steel rules the roost. At Bowmore,thetraditionalmaltfloorisstillinuse,asisthekilnin which to this day the quantities of peat used is established by an age-old recipe, to ensure the particular amount of aroma and taste.


Islay

Typical and distinctive touch of the sea of Islay whiskies.

Gunpowder, smoked salmon, pipe tobacco, salt, tar and li-quorice.

Smooth with a clear Ocean perfume.Thefinishisbothsaltyandgraceful.


Bowmore 1982

bottled: 2004


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Dailuaine - Information

Dailuaine distillery was founded in 1851 by a farmer called Mackenzie.Dail Uaine, “green vale” in gaelic, was the view that Mackenzie had before him when he decided to stop on the banks of a river and build his distillery.When Mackenzie died, in 1865, his widow Jane was one of Scotland’sfirstladydistillers.Since 1898, it has been part of the group Dailuaine-Talisker Distilleries Company Ltd., which also includes Imperial.

In1917,afirethreatenedtodestroyeverything;evenifelec-tricity was available from 1920, up until 1960 a great deal of the energy was generated by steam and the mechanical energy of the water. From 1960 malt was produced with the “Saladin box” system, no longer in use after 1983, but still visible.Dailuaine whisky is slightly peaty; since 1960 three pairs of stills have been used.

Dailuaine is one of the single malts used for blending Johnnie Walker.


Speyside

Delicate, subtle and elegant, but with great powers of persua-sion and communication.A whisky that is part of ancient tradition and inspiration, as well as man’s will and tradition.Complete, persuasive and ample.

All the spicy, fruity, vegetable and mineral dimensions are per-fectly shown and developed here.On the palate it also has a light, elegant structure, but is rich and lengthily aromatic at the same time.


Dailuaine 1981

bottled: 2007


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Highland Park - Information

Highland Park has existed for over 200 years and been pro-duced during the reigns of six sovereigns; it is now recognized as one of the best Highland Malt Whiskies.

There are no accelerated maturation programmes and today’s processes meet the same exacting standards as always.This does not mean that the distillery is not open to innovation, but only when it does not jeopardise the quality of the whisky.“The tradition of the productive processes, which dates back to 1798, makes Highland Park one of the world’s most respected single malts.

Orkney is unique. The history of Scotland, is not the history of the Orkneys. The Orcadians are proud of Highland Park whis-ky as it forms a part of their heritage.”

Freely taken from: F. Paul Pacult, Top 110 Spirits, Spirit Journal June 2005.


Orkney

This is one of the selections that could be described as “historic”.In fact, it is one of those that were made by Silvano Samaroli spe-cially for his great friend and admirer, Anacleto Bleve.We like to remember that it is with “things” like this that … the Sa-maroli legend began!

It opens with a slight touch of phenolic peat, toasted hazelnuts, floralandherbaltones.This is followed by leather, pennyroyal, goudron.The taste is smooth, sweet and fragrant in with a balanced alco-holic tone.Leaves great cleaniless on the palate with precise decisive aro-mas.Open the bottle carefully, using the appropriate corkscrew correctly.


Highland Park 1980

bottled: 2001


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Ardmore - Information

The family from Leith was the owner of the majority of this allur-ingdistrictofpasturesandfields.In the elegant building called “Leith Hall” it is possible to view a large number of items accumulated by the various generations of the family; these include a fantastic 18th century “refrigerator”.Going against the trend of what was happening in the whole whisky world, at the end of the 19th century, Kennethmont founded Ardmore as his personal distillery.The distillery, one of the largest in Scotland, was bought by Al-lied Breweries in 1976, which later became in Allied Distillers Ltd.

Malting with a Saladin box system continued until 1976, but from 1955 malts produced externally also had to be used, to support the productive capacity which – precisely in 1955 – had been doubled for the second time.Therearefourpairsofpotstills(allcoal-firedupuntil2001/02),the soot of which inevitably contributed to giving the buildings the look of an old distillery of the 1800s.It is used for the blending of Teacher’s Highland Cream.


Highland

This selection was part of the series with which Silvano Samar-oli celebrated his 35 years’ activity.Once again the phrase “ …. not rare - unique …” is effectively right on target.Ardmore itself says that there are no other examples in Europe that are over thirty years old; the combination of sweetness, strength and elegance it expresses is perhaps the most pro-found ever achieved.Smooth and chewy with intense and lengthy notes of cacao, vanilla, hay, pear, cherry, grapefruit and caffeine.Aromatic and sharp taste, slightly smoky and with the right amountofpeat,withaliquorice,yoghurtandbarleysoupfinish


Ardmore 1977

bottled: 2003


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Longmorn - Information

Aflourmillfrom1600,representingthevocationoftheentirezone, the distillery was only founded in 1894, less than 20 years after the inauguration of the Glenlossie distillery.John Duff and two partners built Longmorn on the road to Elgin south of Rothes, known to this day as the “Distillery Line”.

Themaltingsfloorwasuseduntil1970,afterwhich theareawas dedicated to the expansion of the boiler-room.

Nowadays, Longmorn has four pairs of stills and up until a shorttimeagothefourwashstillswerecoalfired.Thisrequiredconsiderable professionalism on behalf of the Master Blender and the “Stoker”.

The wash stills have rummagers that in the past were driven by the old waterwheel, which can still be visited at the distillery.The water for distilling comes from local streams and the peat from the mosses on the Mannoch hill.


Speyside

This reference is also part of the series with which Silvano Sa-maroli paid tribute to his 35 years’ activity.

Normally, the distillery bottles after 15 years of ageing and oth-er independent bottlers propose it with maturation that does not usually exceed 12 years in casks.

Thirty (30!) years in casks and already eight in bottles; prod-uctslikethisarehardtofind.Sweet opening on the nose, which slowly develops, and en-ablesfruity,floralanddelicatefragrantmineralnotestoemerge.An old-style whisky on which to “focus” all your sensorial ability.


Longmorn 1973

bottled: 2003


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Glen Grant - Information

Began in 1823, when whisky distillation was illegal.

In 1840, brothers John and James Grant decided to acquire a license.In 1872, the founders of Glen Grant Distillery had died and the young James “The Major” Grant (born in 1847), who had always been ex-tremely interested in the distillery and had inherited the company and the “Glen Grant” name from his uncle (John Grant), had to show that he was a worthy successor.

There are countless legends regarding “The Major”. An innovator, he certainly contributed to raising the quality and setting new higher prod-uct standards.

ItissaidthathewasthefirstmanintheHighlandstoownacar,andGlenGrantwasthefirstdistillerytouseelectricity.

He introducedthetallslenderstillsandpurifierswhichcreatedthefreshmaltyflavourandclearcolourtypicalofGlenGrantwhiskytothis day.


Speyside

DefinitelytobeincludedinthereferencesthatmadetheSamarolibrand famous.It too is part of one of those selections that Silvano entrusted al-most entirely to the care of Anacleto Bleve.A complex bouquet, which initially releases touches of tamarind, sleepy phenolic notes and nuts.It slowly expands, revealing a long series of perfumes, among which molasses, dates, tobacco and leather stand out.Warm and embracing on the palate with concentrated aromas of rarefinesse,suchascinnamon,walnutandanintenseliquorice.Slightly astringent with considerable fullness and persistence.


Glen Grant 1970

bottled: 2001


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Glenlivet - Information

Founded in 1824, has been in activity since, even during the Great Depression, only closing during World War II.Eveniftherearenoofficialdocumentstoproveit,AlexanderGor-don, 4th Duke of Gordon, seems to have been fundamental for the issuing of the Excise Act (1823), following which his tenant, George Smith, who up until then had been an illegal distiller, was able to applyforandbethefirsttoobtainGlenlivetalegallicenceforpro-ducing spirits.The same George Smith founded a second distillery in 1849 - Cairngorm-Delnabo – but just a few years later (1855-56), together the two were unable to meet the growing demand.The two separate sites caused economic problems and operat-ingandorganizationdifficulties,soin1858athirdlargerplantwasopenedthatwasabletoexceedtheoutputofthefirsttwoputto-gether. Production began in the new premises in 1859. When George Smith died in 1871, his son James Gordon Smith inherited the distillery, which was already famous for the quality of its product, so much so that other distilleries in the zone renamed their products “Glenlivet”; J.G. Smith was compelled to take legal action and only in 1880 obtained ownership of the name Glenlivet.The distillery is now owned by Pernod Ricard and produces ap-proximately 6 million litres per year, the majority of which are sold a single malts.


Speyside

The “twin” of the aforementioned Glen Grant 1970, this too must be included in the list of labels that are “symbols” of the Samaroli brand.Like its counterpart, this is part of the bottlings that Silvano carried out for his admirer Anacleto Bleve.With a traditional character, unleashes intense concentrated aro-mas. The slow development in the glass makes it mysterious and surprising,definitelyverysatisfyingfromahedonisticpointofview.Dry prunes, tamarind, toffee pear, leather, raisins, developed tones of vanilla and many other aromas follow in succession with a long aromatic persistence.Embracing on the palate, with considerable delicacy and elegance, a perfect match between nose and palate.Superlative and unrivalled, of very rare quality.


Glenlivet 1970

bottled: 2001


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Tamnavullin - Information

As in the language of the Inuit there are many terms to describe snow in all its numerous forms, Scots Gaelic has many words to best represent the term hill or mountain: Meall, Tom, Beinn, Creag, Tor, Tulach, Cnoc, Stob, Sgurr, Sliabh and so on, each of which describes distinctive features: large, small, round, point-ed, etc.‘Tom’ is a small round hill and ‘mhoulin’ (similar to ‘Moulin’ in French) is a mill; MH is pronounced like a ‘V’ in Gaelic (see also the phonetic transcription used in Lagavulin on Islay).

The mill at Tomnavoulin was used to card the wool that shep-herdsgatheredfromtheirflocksspreadoverthehills.Itisnowthe distillery’s visitor centre and the waterwheel that drove the machinery has been restored.The relatively young distillery dates back to 1966 with three pairs of stills; the production was practically all for the production of blends such as Whyte & Mackay, Crawfords and Mackinlay’s.

In 1993, Whyte & Mackay became the owner of Tamnavulin, along with Bruichladdich, Isle of Jura, and Tullibardine.Production, stopped temporally in 1995, and started up again in July 2007, after ownership passed to the United Breweries Group.

In 1966, Tamnavulin-Glenlivet Distillery Co. Ltd. built the Tamna-vulin distillery in order to meet the growing demand from whisky blenders. Tamnavulin was closed in May 1995.


Speyside

Considering the past and recent history of Tamnavullin, choosing “unfindable”todescribethissinglemaltisreallylimiting.

40 years in casks (and now 3 in bottles) and a wonderful wooden presentation case to celebrate, with an incredibly fantastic single malt which was distilled in the same year that everything started, Silvano Samaroli’s 40 years of activity.


Tamnavullin 1968

bottled: 2008


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Tomintoul - Information

Reputedly the highest village in Highlands, standing at 345 metres (1,132 feet) above sea level.In Gaelic Tom an t-Sabhail means hillock of the barn and is a village in the Moray Council zone; in 1975 it became part of Banffshire and its population has dropped from approximately 1,700 (in 1841) to just 322 inhabitants in the 2001 census.In spit of being very small, the charming village is included in the Whisky Trail, along with Dufftown, Keith, Tomnavoulin and Marypark. The surrounding countryside is the Glenlivet Estate

The Tomintoul distillery was the result of the fusion of two Glasgowwhiskybrokingfirms.The distillery, launched in the early sixties, is obviously modern and its design won the approval of the Royal Fine Art Commis-sion.

It is located on a plateau in the hills below the village.Tomintoul was the third “new” distillery to be built in the 20th century.In 1974 its stills were increased to two pairs. Whisky stocks are estimated at approximately 80,000 casks, of which some date backtothefirstyearofproduction(1965).


Speyside

What more can we say?44 years old and doesn’t feel it.With this selection, anybody who has not had the pleasure of tastingSilvanoSamaroli’sfirstbottlingswillbeabletoexperi-ence otherwise incomparable emotions.Very elegant pear extract backed up by a vein of pleasant smooth alcohol that prolongs the multidimensional sensation endlessly.This spirit is a promenade that transports you mind and soul to heightsofAbsoluteQualitythatareveryhardtofind.


Tomintoul 1967

bottled: 2011


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Information

Along with the NoAge and the NoAge Declared Yehmon Rum, this is the quintessence of what “Samaroli since 1968” means today.

A successful hunt for fantastic single malts and grain whiskies, skilful blending and a wait for time to enable “the Idea to be-come reality”.

A showcase of opposites:elegant and austere,fresh and mature,pungent and sweet,loveable and hateful (hateful because, sooner or later, what is in the glass and (un-fortunately)whatisinthebottlewillfinish)!!!!

This is a tangible demonstration that the Samaroli products are different from all other products and selections.

A bottle that is a must for great whisky lovers.


Blend

Bottled using traditional techniques after 41 years’ ageing.

Among the dominant sensations, clear components are cus-tard, cosmetic, oats, wild herbs, leather, liquorice and tar, har-monically combined.


Blend 1965

bottled: 2006


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Cognac

The maison Delamain was founded by a family previously emi-grated from France to Dublin in Ireland.

James Delamain (1738-1800) married Marie Ransom in 1759 and returned to Jarnac (France) and created a partnership with his father in law Isaac Ranson, owner of an export company with a great reputation since the beginning of the production of cognac.

Formally, the foundation of the maison was on 1740 mean-while in 1763 was created the Delamain Ranson.

The distillery was rebuilt in the eighteenth and nineteenth cen-tury, partially on top of cellars of the fourteenth century andpartially on the ruins of an old Protestant Church, which served as a repository of brandy during the French revolution.

In 1920, the family became the sole owner of the Delamain cognac.


Gran Champagne Cognac 1983

bottled: 2011


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Demerara

Ample complex aromatic concentration in which outstanding tropical fruit and nuts tones emerge from a base of evolved vanilla, sugarcane, molasses and an excellent mineral touch.

Afinishwithpennyroyalandliquoriceinalong-lastingaromaticpersistence.

A unaggressive sweet tannic concentration and that highlights and exploits the dimension of the taste and the aromas.

This spirit represents the absolute peak of a quality very rarely found on the market.

The most favourable period for an excellent tasting session goes from late spring to the beginning of the autumn.

The bottles of Demerara Dark Rum 1975 were the result of the bottling of two casks of 500 litres each which, after 31 years’ ageing, the majority of which was in Scotland, produced a total of 460 bottles.


Demerara Dark Rum 1975

bottled: 2006


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Note

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Bibliography:Il Whisky di Malto – Charles Mac Lean – Mondatori,

L’Atlante Mondiale del Whisky – Michael Jackson – Mondatori,Wikipedia, I love Laphroaig, Uisge.com, Rum Club Italiano, Gambero Rosso,

Dizionario della lingua italiana – Gabrielli – Carlo Signorelli EditoreThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Edward Gibbon -

The J. B. Bury edition

Documents

Samaroli - daracha.nodaracha.no/wp-content/uploads/Samaroli_catalogue_2011.pdf3 Introduction This publication contains: • A brief description of Silvano S. Samaroli’s over forty