2013 K&L Exclusive Cask Scotland Pre-Arrivals Begin

Look above, my friends. Behold....the Signatory warehouse in Edradour Distillery in Pitlochry, Scotland. Home to hundreds of incredible whiskies of various ages, from many different distilleries, some still in existence and others now but a memory.

Without a doubt, regardless of which David you ask, both OG and I will tell you that this facility is the motherload for good single malt whisky. Signatory has barrels of impeccable quality and they're total sticklers about what they select and purchase. The only problem has been pricing. We always leave Signatory with a feeling of jubilation, an elated sense of joy about possibly bringing some of these fantastic single cask expressions back to California.

Until we see the pricing.

Ugh. The high is over.

But something changed this year. I don't know if it was the fact that we had paid our dues, or maybe our collective charm, but all of a sudden we were back at the negotiating table with a huge sense of optimism. Everyone was willing to play ball if we took enough casks to make it worthwhile.

And......boy, oh boy.......we would take fifty casks from Signatory if we had enough cash. Quantity wasn't going to be an issue, just price and availability. We gave them a list with our offer. Our offer was accepted. A deal was struck.

David and I are still on cloud nine from this purchase. We keep calling each other, wondering if we're missing something or if maybe we're forgetting to add in some kind of fee, but it looks like we're now in the clear to start selling these whiskies on pre-order. If you're new to the K&L pre-arrival process, here's how it works:

- We sell you the whisky now. You pay for it up front. This will reserve the bottle for you.

- The pre-arrival price will be cheaper than the in-store price when it arrives. By purchasing in advance you are getting a discount. Usually it's about $10 to $30 a bottle.

- You'll get an email saying your order is complete if you purchase a pre-arrival bottle. Then, when the whisky arrives, we'll send you a letter and an email telling you your bottle is ready.

That's it!

Every week we'll release one or two new whiskies to the general public and you can decide if that one looks good or not. We're really excited about our Signatory deal, so we're going to start with what David and I both think is one of the best deals we've ever found.

1989 Isle of Jura 23/24 Year Old K&L Exclusive Signatory Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky $99.99 - David and I just couldn't believe this when we tasted it. This was clearly the best Isle of Jura we'd ever tasted. This whisky has it all. It's vibrant and expressive. I get tons of stone fruit framed in subtle phenolic robes. The nose is so powerful and clean, you almost don't want to move on, but you'll thank God you did because the palate is just so classy. Bright citrus, savory wisps of smoke, touches of saline, fresh oats, and now some tropical fruits. We totally were expecting a very high price tag on this baby. It was FAR better than we'd been used to seeing from this distillery, although we knew they were capable of producing some world class stuff. It also wasn't particularly young, so we just expected an exorbitant price for this cask, but the normal experience of receiving stupidly over-priced quotes only for us to bitch and moan until they drop the price slightly just didn't happen this year. The result was an excellent whisky at a VERY fair price. We keep thinking it's too inexpensive, but isn't that what makes it so exciting? (David Othenin-Girard. K&L Spirits Buyer)

David D adds: 2013 is going to be the year that we bring value back to our single malt customers. If the brands aren't going to do it, we'll have to fly over to Scotland and make it happen. This Isle of Jura cask is purely underpriced. And how often does a whisky get underpriced in a hot market? Aromas of toffee and cake frosting drift headily out of the glass. A bit of earth, maybe? The hogshead was likely a Bourbon cask because I get wood spice and Bourbon flavors. Fruity notes on the palate with a long, delicious finish of toasted nuts. What a stunner. I never knew Jura could taste like this. For the price you might wanna buy two.

150 bottles available at the pre-arrival price.

That's it for now! More hot Signatory deals coming soon!

-David Driscoll