Bottles of the oldest single-malt whisky in the world were unveiled this month at a tasting hosted at Edinburgh Castle. The Scottish 70-Year-Old Mortlach from Gordon and MacPhail has been aging in a Spanish oak cask since 1938 and was described by one taster at the event as "a delicate, fresh, vital, fruity whisky, with unusual attributes of waxiness and smokiness". The limited edition whisky is available in hand-blown, tear-shaped crystal decanters with silver stoppers. There are 54 full-sized bottles and 162 smaller ones available for £10,000 and £2,000 respectively.

Famed Speyside distillery The Macallan and the Ritz-Carlton Destination Club at Aspen Highlands (above) have teamed up on a tantalizing Scotch and ski package combining the ultimate in single malt whisky, luxe accommodations, and winter sports - The Macallan Winter Escape. Eden Algie, The Macallan's Brand Ambassador, is inviting fellow enthusiasts to enjoy one last ultra-premium adventure both on and off the slopes before the snow melts, from March 20-26. The Winter Escape Package Includes: a private one-on-one Macallan tasting experience with Algie; luxurious accommodations at the Ritz-Carlton Club, Aspen Highlands; ski in / ski out access to Aspen Highlands; personal 24-hour concierge service; unlimited use of all the Ritz-Carlton Club, Aspen Highlands amenities; a decadent progressive dinner experience featuring limited-edition expressions paired with The Macallan-infused food pairings from Executive Chef Jami Flatt; and more. A four night package including one complimentary night is available for $3,036 and a seven night package including two complimentary nights is available for $4,585; both get you a two-bedroom Club residence. Click here for more info.

The Malt Advocate released its picks for Best Whiskies of The Year" in its new Spring issue. Like many of these rankings, there is a little to go around for everyone to argue about, as well as a surprise or two.

Top of the list for pleasant surprises is Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey. This young distillery, opened in 2004, has been a stand out since getting started, but it is also up against dozens of emerging micro-distilleries popping up all around the U.S. It used to distill from beer wash obtained from Flying Dog Brewery, but is now making its own. batch 49, honored by Malt Advocate, contains whiskey as young as two years old, but no older than five. At $55 a bottle, it's a buy, with an eye toward putting one away for future auctions. On the palate, you should find notes of English toffee, maple, roasted chestnuts and a bit of tobacco.

"Best Buy" of the Year went to The MacPhail's Collection; 8-year old expressions of Highland Park, Glenrothes and Tamdhu. At $30-$35, it was a solid choice. It's hard to find age stated whiskies this good, and nicely packaged. All are aged in refill Sherry casks. There are whiskies I like as much at the lower end of the range: Ardmore 'Traditional Cask" comes to mind, but for a few dollars more. That makes The MacPhails a worthy winner.

The American Whiskey of the Year went to Parker's Heritage Collection "Golden Anniversary." This expression was developed to mark Parker Beam's fifty years of service at Heaven Hill Distilleries. The blend was created from whiskies from the last five decades. With so many ages mingles, its not surprising to find a very complex, layered taste: vanilla and cocoa, but with very definite notes of citrus and cinnamon. At $150.00, I'd have to say it's right priced.

The Canadian Whisky of the Year is Crown Royal Cask No. 16. This is not surprising, but perhaps a little disappointing. No. 16 is a fine whisky to be sure. But the choice is disturbingly predictable because of the seeming lack of innovation coming out of Canada compared with the U.S. and Scotland. A close competitor in my tasting book would be Canadian Club 30 Year, at $200.00. To be eligible for Malt Advocate's ranking, the whisky has to have been sold in the U.S. in the previous year. The problem with some of the better, smaller volume Canadian whiskies is that they are not sold in the U.S., and they are often priced lower than they deserve, making comparisons with high-end Crown Royals and Canadian Clubs difficult for many taste testers.

Ardbeg Whisky, part of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, is certainly not the biggest single-malt whisky distillery in Scotland. But it has become the most talked about thanks to its often cheeky product names ("Very Young," was a six-year-old Whisky released in 2004 and now sells for $380.00 by some retailers) and creative online marketing.

And so the distillery is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the formation of the Ardbeg Committee, a now-50,000-plus group of fans and followers, by releasing a limited bottling of a new expression called Rollercoaster [see video here].

To create Rollercoaster, which master distiller Bill Lumsden helped name to describe the last decade at Ardbeg, the whisky has been created by taking from ten years of casks, from 1997 to 2006, and vetting enough to create a volume sufficient for 10,000 bottles. In keeping with the occasion, buyers have to be members of the committee, which can be joined online at www.Ardbeg.com.

Rollercoaster fits in well with the growing family of Ardbeg whiskies. That means it has smoke to burn. The key difference between Rollercoaster and, say, Ardbeg's Ten-year-old flagship product, is a bit more sweet spice added to the peat-fires--fudge, burnt sugar and treacle flavors emerge along with a touch of the seaweed and brine that is characteristic of Islay malts. Lumsden is also achieving a level of creamy qualities in the Ardbeg malts that are the envy of other distillers, not that they would readily admit it.

Most of the casks selected are ex-bourbon but a couple are ex-sherry. The result makes for a nice mix of fruit and vanilla undertones. Rollercoaster has been bottled at 57.3% ABV, with the recommended price, $75. It can be ordered through the website at www.ardbeg.com. If shipping direct is a problem, it can be shipped to specific retailers. As with any limited bottling like this, especially cult-fav Ardbeg,it might be worthwhile to buy two--one for drinking and one for saving.

Professional golfer Fuzzy Zoeller has joined the list of celebrities with his own vodka. The golfer, currently on the seniors tour, has been in the news recently weighing in on the Tiger Woods apology and chiding Woods for not apologizing more quickly.

Zoeller launched his vodka in Indiana during The Senior U.S. Open at Crooked Stick last year. Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka was awarded a gold medal and a rating of 94 by Chicago's International Beverage Testing Institute. The vodka is filtered ten times through charcoal and crushed volcanic rock and is batch distilled in the U.S. using Cascade Mountain spring water. A portion of each batch is aged for two months in fresh oak barrels and then is reintroduced to the final product. It sells for around $30.

When asked why a vodka instead of a wine like Ernie Els or Greg Norman, Zoeller told the Daily Pilot that he's not a wine drinker but that he does "drink a little vodka every once in a while, every day with a 'y' in it."

Make your wedding toast truly special by not only toasting with Dom Pérignon but by toasting with Dom Pérignon out of a personalized bottle that features both of your names on the label. Dom Pérignon recently unveiled Dom Pérignon Wedding, a collection coming out just in time for this season's rush of spring and summer nuptuals that includes 12 bottles of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2000 plus one additional bottle packaged in a pretty white lacquered box with a special label personalized with the date and the names of the bride and groom.

The collection was inspired by the bottles opened at the wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles back in 1981 that each had a personalized label and made such a beautiful and classic way to memorialize the occasion.

Absolut vodka has collaborated with designer Phillip Plein and come out with a special limited edition bottle that's all dressed up in black with Swarovski crystals on every side. The front looks like a starry night but flip it around and there's a glittering skull (we just can't get away from the skulls this year) with a wicked looking smile on his face. Certainly a fun conversation piece to have in your home collection. Only 100 of the bottles were made and they're available in Philip Plein's store on online for €100.

Via Bornrich

Premium brands have been moving to secure the naming rights in racing series around the world. Rolex sponsors the Daytona sportscar championship. IZOD recently took center stage in the IndyCar Series. But while liquor brands have been sponsoring individual cars and teams for decades – think Martini, Crown Royal or even the various breweries active in NASCAR – premium tequila distiller Patron has taken it a step further.

The tequila brand has been sponsoring cars in the American Le Mans Series (the U.S. affiliate of the famous French endurance race) for years, including the championship-winning Acura prototypes of Highcroft Racing. Now the company has secured the naming rights for the entire series, which will henceforth be known as the American Le Mans Series Presented by Tequila Patron. The company's president will even be driving a Ferrari F430 GT2 in this year's championship, bearing the ironically lime-green color scheme of the Patron brand.

The involvement of liquor companies in car racing has drawn considerable controversy, as advocates point out that drinking and driving don't mix. Some spirit purveyors, however, have used their sponsorship as part of drunk-driving awareness programs.

To a serious whisky drinker, the idea that India could produce a world class whisky has been a fanciful idea. Until now, that is.

Amrut whiskies from Bangalore-based Amrut Distilleries will finally hit U.S. liquor retailers in March after five years of distributing single-malts in the European Union countries, Canada and South Africa. Talk about bursting on the scene: Just prior to its U.S. entry, noted whisky writer Jim Murray rated Amrut Fusion" third best whisky in the world in his 2010 "Whisky Bible," rating it 97. The rating stunned the whisky establishment, especially in Scotland.

Amrut will be introducing all five of its whisky expressions at once: Amrut Single-Malt; Amrut Single-Malt Cask Strength; Amrut Single-Malt Peated; Amrut Single-Malt Peated Cask Strength; Amrut Fusion. Prices range from $45.00 for the Single-Malt to $72.00 for the Peated Cask Strength.

India is well known for its consumption and appreciation of whisky. And it's distilleries have long turned out mostly inferior "whisky" blends made from all manner of grains as well as molasses. Additionally, the climate in India hardly lends itself to gentle aging.

The altitude and temperatures of India, in fact, make Amrut's aging very short compared with whiskies from Scotland, Ireland and Canada, and even Japan. None of the Amrut products will carry an age statement. It may not be a problem. Scottish distillery Ardbeg, for example, has created a near cult following for its whiskies with very few age-statement products.

Despite inhospitable aging conditions in India, Amrut has clearly cracked the code. Fusion, for example, gets its name from the fact that it is derived from two barleys: Indian and Scottish. The Scottish barley is peated. Amrut's barley comes from the Punjab region. Distillation takes place in Bangalore at 3,000 ft. above sea level. The spirits are matured separately in oak, for less than 4 years! After each reaches peak, the two are married in Bourbon casks in proportions only Amrut blenders know.

The result is a complexity of fruit and smoke that I have never tasted in a Scotch whisky. Since it is Winter Olympics time, I'll use a handy analogy. Drinking Fusion is like watching a skater who breaks all the rules and combines quad and triple jumps in a totally unexpected way, and saves big jumps until the last quarter of the routine when most skaters are too tired to attempt the big jumps. You keep expecting the skater's routine to fall apart, and he never does. And neither does Amrut. Murray's unexpected high rating for Amrut has made the brand one of the biggest curiosities of the year among whiskey drinkers who have not tried it abroad.

At the newly renovated Plaza Hotel, which recently underwent a $450 million renovation, Luxist visited the famous Oak Room Bar where Head Bartender Orlando Rivera shared with us some of his secrets, including how to make one of the most classic cocktails---the Manhattan.

Orlando Rivera, who has worked at the Plaza Hotel for 21 years, presides over The Oak Bar. During his time there, he has served classic cocktails to the great and near-great, including princes, presidents, powerbrokers, politicians, Hollywood stars, musicians and professional athletes.

The Manhattan is believed to have been invented at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the 1870's. The cocktail has not diminished in its popularity over the ensuing 140 years and is referred to as the "king of cocktails." We couldn't think of a better place to learn (or a better person to learn from) how to make this classic cocktail than at this landmark location. Built in 1907 as a bar for men only, the Oak Room Bar is now an iconic meeting spot for New Yorkers and visitors to the city alike.

SKYY Vodka, the super-premium purity-minded spirit in the distinctive cobalt blue bottle, has introduced the first nationally available all natural ginger infused vodka as part of the Infusions line we wrote about earlier. Thanks to its signature infusion process, fresh spiced and juiced ginger flavors abound, along with notes of roasted oranges and cinnamon and intricate aromas. It joins the entire line of All Natural SKYY Infusions: Citrus, Pineapple, Cherry, Grape, Raspberry and Passion Fruit. an assortment of all natural infusions made from real fruit that has been ranked #1 in taste by the prestigious Beverage Tasting Institute. Below are some cocktail recipes featuring the new elixir created by some of the country's leading mixologists:

Fruit and Gingerly
Created by Adam Wilson of Beretta San Francisco

2 oz. SKYY Infusions Ginger
0.5 oz. Orange Juice
0.5 oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice
0.5 oz. Lime Juice
1.5 Tbsp Fresh Cranberries
3 Chunks Pineapple
Club Soda

Muddle cranberries and pineapple in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and rest of ingredients except soda and shake vigorously. Pour into a Collins glass with fresh ice and top with soda. Garnish with chunk of pineapple and/or three cranberries on a toothpick laid horizontally over rim of the glass.

Sometimes it seems like everywhere you look there is an ex-football player selling something. Howie Long is pitching cars, Troy Aikman is shilling for rental furniture and former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway wants you to drink his vodka. Elway had joined the board of Nude Vodka, a Colorado-based company.

As part of his involvement the vodka brand is offering "An Evening with Elway." Each bottle of vodka sold in Colorado has a number on the neck label. Seven numbers will be randomly drawn on April 30, 2010. The holders of those bottle numbers will be invited to meet and spend some time with Elway, a man that Shawn Harlan, CEO and Founder of NUDE Spirits calls "Colorado's living icon." The winners can each bring a guest (both must be 21 or over). Winning numbers will be announced on the Nude vodka website, via Twitter, and FaceBook and winners will be invited to attend a private event with John Elway, have their winning bottle signed by John Elway and grab a quick photo.

Highlands single-malt Scotch producer The Glenlivet will release its latest Cellar Collection in June, a limited bottling from its three best 1973 casks. This is the eighth release of Glenlivet's Cellar Collection, and will be bottled at cask strength, 49% ABV.The casks selected include one ex-sherry butt and two refilled American hogsheads. Out of the total bottling, 240 will be available in the U.S. at $1250.00.

This release, helped by its 36 years of aging, is incredibly smooth with big sweet orange and gingerbread flavors. The best way to obtain a bottle is to special order it through one of the better spirit retailers such as Spec's Liquor in Austin; Federal Wine & Spirits in Boston; Park Avenue Liquors in New York or The Whisky Shop in San Francisco.

As always, though, age and price is no guarantee of quality. The Malt Advocate, for example, rated the 1969 Cellar Collection a 96, but gave the 1972 release just an 89.

We've talked about the tourism slump in Las Vegas many times. It has had a major effect on hotels, restaurants and stores. But it has also affected the main airport in Las Vegas, which has seen revenue slump as airline carriers drop flight frequency. McCarran International Airport officials have found a uniquely Vegas way to fight back, they want to open up a liquor store in the baggage claim area. That's right, no more waiting until you get all the way to the Vegas Strip to liquor up. It's not really such a big shift for an airport that already has whole islands of slot machines but some people think its not really appropriate, even for Las Vegas. There are fears that the liquor store will lead to public drunkeness in the baggage claim (imagine drunken passengers with lost luggage, scary).

According to the Las Vegas Sun, the airport is seeking approval to open up a request for bids for the baggage claim liquor concession. Shops already sell duty-free liquor at McCarran and of course, at many airports all around the world but this may be the first baggage claim liquor store in the U.S. The store would be located near the escalators that lead from the D gates to baggage claim. Airport officials are couching the move as a necessary step to preserve jobs and help the Las Vegas economy but this may be a step too far, even for Vegas.

I'm not entirely sure why National Margarita Day falls in February. I'd much prefer it in a warmer more margarita friendly month. But there's never really a wrong time to enjoy a margarita. The traditonal margarita has tequila, triple sec and lime juice although you can get a good bartender argument going about the exact ratios of the ingredients. You could also start quite a spirited discussion about the origin of the margarita. The consensus seems to be that it emerged in Mexico sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s but there's no definitive story. Personally I like the one that has it named after Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Cansino).

Margaritas and guacamole are a perfect combination but have you ever thought about putting the two together? The Guacarita has tequila, agave nectar, lime juice and cilantro. It's never going to replace the margarita in popularity but it's definitely different. Other unique margarita add-ins include pineapple, cucumbers, a cilantro simple syrup and chiles. Chile peppers seem to be a big story in margaritas lately. Just as chile and chocolate have made it into the mainstream, so too jalapeno and tequila have suddenly become more popular together. And a jalapeno margarita has the added bonus of warming you up. There are a couple of ways to make a jalapeno margarita. You can buy a pepper-infused tequila (Tanteo makes a great one), you can infuse your own tequila by allowing chiles to set in tequila for several days and then remove them or you can try a recipe like this one that uses a pureed chile.

Should your margarita leanings take you in a less adventurous direction, try the recipe from Don Julio tequila after the jump.