Specialist Whisky Shops
Specialist Whisky Shops
“The Whisky Exchange” in Covent Garden, (nearest tube stations: Leicester Square or Charing Cross),
Whenever I am in London I make a point of visiting my two
favourite specialist UK whisky shops outside of Scotland. The first is “The Whisky
Exchange” in Covent Garden, where they stock almost everything on the whisky market today. They
also have one of the best Whisky Internet sites on the Web and there is always
someone available online to chat for advice. It is well worth a visit to the
shop if only to see the rare Port Ellens and Broras sitting in the glass cases
at price tags that look like telephone numbers. Generally, their prices seem to
be the cheapest in London but it is worth checking as there are exceptions.
The most notable bottling I bought there was the excellent and very rare "Caol Ila Natural Cask Strength" which I have been unable to find anywhere else.
“The Grapevine”, 90 Oldhill Street, Stamford Hill.
The second specialist shop I frequent is “The Grapevine”, the
Kosher wine store at 90 Oldhill Street, Stamford Hill in the heart of the old
Chasidishe London community shopping parade. There you will find a truly excellent
stock of single malts, sometimes cheaper than The Whisky Exchange and often stocking
bottles which have long since sold out everywhere else. It can be worth phoning
about 24 hours ahead if you are after something specific as they don’t stock
the entire range in the store and keep rarer expressions in their machsan. They
also have an excellent Internet site. Speaking Yiddish could be an advantage
but certainly not a necessity. The owner, Dovid when not swept off his feet on
Erev Shabbos or Erev Yom Tov is very friendly and always willing to answer
questions.
The most notable bottling which I bought there was the Bruichladdich Octomore 6.1 which was not only £20 cheaper than the distillery itself but the only shop in London which had this slightly older expression in stock.
יינות וטעמים
“Yeinot VeTaamim” (“Wine& Flavors”) at 4 Derech Jabotinsky, Ramat Gan.
Here in Israel, the only truly specialist whisky shop I am
aware of is “Yeinot VeTaamim” where you will find single malts that you will
not be able to find anywhere else in Israel.
יינות וטעמים “Yeinot VeTaamim” (“Wine
& Flavors”) at 4 Derech Jabotinsky, Ramat Gan. It is quite easy to get
there, just off of the Ayalon highway inside a petrol station. Coming from
Yerushalayim, (traveling north) you set your GPS/Waize to the above address and
after turning off at the Arlozorov turnoff, keeping to the far right hand lane the whole time, at about 300
metres up you will see a petrol station on your right. You drive into the petrol
station and park either on the left, before the petrol pumps or on the right,
outside the shop entrance.
They have a good Internet site but it doesn’t seem to be
updated very often so will show whiskies long since out of stock and won’t show
whiskies they do have in stock. My advice is if you are looking for something
particular, phone beforehand or go there with a certain amount of money to spend
in mind and see what goodies they happen to have in stock on that day. The
owner, Osher, orders whisky from all over the world, sometimes only one or two
bottles so it’s always worth popping in while in the area just to see what is
new.
Prices for these specialist whiskies are on average some 25%
more expensive compared to London prices but there are exceptions. It is worth
taking your time and checking prices on the Whisky Exchange or KosherWineuk
sites on your smart phone. Sometimes I have not bought even something I really
wanted to try as the price was far more than in London. On the other hand, I
have found real bargains at very similar prices to that in the UK.
Good Advice: Buyer Beware, Buyer take care.
For some reason though, the prices at “Yeinot VeTaamim” for
more popular and widely found whiskies such as the Tomintouls and The
Glenlivets etc, tend to be much more expensive than many regular wine shops so
please always check prices before buying.
Just some whiskies I have purchased there and could not find anywhere
else in Israel have been:
Glencadam 21 Year Old, 46% abv, NCF, NC.
Tamnavulin 12 Year Old, rare bottling from 1994. 40% abv.
Lagavulin 12 Year Old 2013, Special Limited Release, Cask Strength 56.1% abv. NCF, NC.
Lagavulin 8 Year Old Limited Edition
200th Anniversary, 48% abv.
Caol Ila 25 Year Old, 43% abv.
Deanston 18 Year Old Kentucky Bourbon Finish, 46.3% abv. NCF, NC.
BenRiach 16 Year Old, 43% abv.
Last week I reviewed the Deanston 18 so this week it is the turn of the BenRiach
16. Be’ezrat Hashem I’ll get round to reviewing them all, time permitting.
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