The only distillery on the Hebridean island that serves as a stepping-stone between Islay and mainland Scotland. Jura always stands out from other single malts. But this year stands out more than others, as the distillery celebrates its 200th anniversary.

To commemorate the bicentennial, Jura has released a special-edition 21-year old bottling, which joins its core range of 10, 16, Superstition and Prophecy single malts. It will be offered only in strictly limited quantities, direct from the distillery and from select retailers worldwide.

Sweetening the deal even further, buyers lucky enough to get their hands on the 200th anniversary bottling are also invited to visit the distillery and taste some of their even rarer malts on site.

Single malts from Islay – like Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin or Bowmore – are known for their heavily peated, smokey flavor. Bunnahabhain stands apart with a gentler taste, and now the island distillery has launched an exclusive new edition.

The Bunnahabhain 1980 Vintage has been aged at the distillery's seaside warehouses on the North East side of Islay for the past three decades, imparting it with a creamy, silky taste. It's been bottled after 30 years at a cask strength of 45.4%, non-chill-filtered, with no color added (many distilleries add caramel) and otherwise completely unadulturated.

Only 357 individually-numbered bottles have been filled. Each comes with unique gold-foil labeling in an un-dyed leather case that promises to age with time, accompanied by a branded quaich (a traditional Scottish serving dish) and special parchment in a glass tube.

With Halloween falling on a Sunday this year, the night before, sometimes referred to as "Mischief Night", will be ideal for adult parties while the kids prepare to go trick-or-treating, or to parties on Sunday afternoon.

In keeping with the "spirit" of the occasion, here are several good ways to stock a bar for the grown-ups, and prepare for some themed drinks.

Here are recommendations and recipes:

Absinthe:
Reintroduced in the last couple of years to liquor stores, it is a anise flavored distilled spirit, emerald green in color that turns to cloudy opalescent white when mixed with a bit of water, which is traditionally poured over a sugar cube. Known in the 19th century as "The Green Fairy" for its power to bring on hallucinations. It was known to be a favorite of such "dark" artists and writers as Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allen Poe and Ernest Hemingway. Lucid is one brand, priced at about $50.00, and packaged in a cool black bottle featuring the eyes of a black cat.

Crystal Head Vodka:
Apprpriately bottled in a crystal skull, you could buy a few to make a real statement at your bar. Price: about $42.00. Here are two recipes to make use of Crystal Head:

Brain Freeze
1 1/2 oz. Crystal Head Vodka, 1 1/2 to 2 oz. Pure lime juice, 1oz. Simple syrup.
Combine all the ingredients with ice in a blender. Blend until ice is well crushed. Serve in a sugar rimed rocks glass garnished with a slice of lime.

Last time we checked out 1800 Tequila, Michael Imperioli was promoting the brand, projecting an air of urbane cool. Imperioli still represents the brand but the video above shows that the tequila gets around, making an appearance in Twista's video for The Heat, featuring Raekwon.The super-premium tequila is pure, 100% blue agave tequila grown on family-owned ranches and bottled in Jalisco, Mexico. Each bottle of 1800® Tequila is double-distilled and matured in French and American oak barrels and bottled with a stopper that doubles as a shot glass.

The brand also just announced a marketing agreement with the New York Knicks (following fast on the heels of Stoli's deal with the Nets). The NY Times reports that the deal includes signs at courtside and on the scoreboard as well as a number of promotional activities.

The Boston Celtics and private jet company Sentient Jet have announced a new partnership today. Sentient is now the Official Private Jet Partner of the Boston Celtics.

"We are proud to partner with Sentient Jet to provide our fans with unique and convenient access to best in class private aviation services," Boston Celtics Team President Rich Gotham said. "Their support of the Shamrock Foundation through this partnership will help the Celtics to better serve children in need throughout New England."

As part of the partnership, Sentient Jet will team with the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting children's causes across the Boston area. Sentient Jet will also sponsor the Concierge Desk within the Boston Celtics Courtside Club, allowing VIP guests to book a private jet flight while enjoying a game at the Boston Garden.

Sentient is a Boston-based company which offers the Sentient Jet Membership Plus Card. Clients can choose from the Hawker 400XP, Citation Excel or Citation X or from four size categories for each trip. Through the 25-Hour Jet Card, individuals may purchase 25 hours of flight time on their choice of jet size and category at significant savings.

Sentient's CEO Marty Guinoo said. "We always appreciate the opportunity to be a part of a winning team and as a Boston-based company, without question this partnership has special meaning because it allows us to support the local community and fans. Go Celtics!"

Sentient has a variety of partners including Saks Fifth Avenue, the Breeder's Cup, the Leading Hotels of the World, the PGA Tour and American Express.

[via the Boston Globe]

The famed French cognac house of Rémy Martin, founded back in 1724, has been part of countless holiday celebrations over the centuries. This season the venerable fine champagne cognac's VSOP expression, the best-selling VSOP cognac in the United States, is getting a glowing makeover for the holidays. The new limited edition Rémy Martin VSOP Hot Holiday bottle (above) is appropriately dressed in red for the festivities. The colorful cladding also recalls the fact that Rémy Martin VSOP has been a symbol of style and sophistication since its introduction in the exuberant Paris cabaret scene in 1927. The cognac itself is amber in color with rich flavor and a refined aroma. Smooth and easy-to-drink with appealing notes of vanilla, violet, apricot, peach and licorice, it's silky and warm on the palate with a well-balanced taste and long finish. Perfect on its own or over ice, we also enjoy it with soda and lemon or in a Sidecar.

L'Esprit de June is an exotic vine flower liqueur created from grape blossoms. L'Esprit de June, also called June Liqueur, is created by combining the vine flower distillates of three different grape varietals with a grape spirit base in an effort to capture the essence of French vineyards in the springtime. All hand-picked and combined using French wine-making methods, Ugni Blanc flowers add flavors of pear and peach, Merlot flowers contribute aromas of wild strawberry and cherry, and Cabernet Sauvignon blooms bring notes of strawberry, raspberry, and violet.

L'Esprit de June launched in New York earlier this year and is now available in most U.S. markets. Look for it in a pretty sunset orange-topped bottle for $29.99.

Liqueurs, other than Goldschlager and Amaretto, don't play much with the under-45-set.

But I like to be able to offer my dinner guests a selection of digestifs to go with dessert. And when traveling in Europe, I love to dine at a family-run trattoria in Italy or bistro in France where management offers a knowing patron a quaff of some obscure local or regional liqueur--or even better, one that the proprietor has lovingly created and aged in some aged barrel in his cellar.

It is in this quest that I came across Root Premium Liqueur, a creation of a Pennsylvania company called Art In The Age. The bottle and product information offers that this bittersweet digestiv is derived from 13 herbs, spices, root extracts and other ingredients. Root, at 80-proof and distilled from sugar-cane, reminds me a good deal of another favorite herbal liqueur, the Hungarian Zwack digestiv, which can be found at better wine and liquor stores.

The company describes Root as essentially the alcoholic pre-cursor to well-made root beer. It is a good descriptor. Root is not a sweet elixir. And it ought not be confused with root beer infused vodka. What I think of as root beer is definitely a big part of the flavor profile, but so is anise, orange peel and other ingredients meant to keep Root on the right side of "herbal" and "bitter."

Distribution is still mostly within Pennsylvania, but it can be ordered online at http://www.hitimewine.net/istar.asp?a=6&id=167620!1478 for $32.99.

White or clear whiskies aren't entirely new to the market. American distillers have been producing them for years. Explaining their lack of color is simple enough: "fresh make spirit" – that is, whisk(e)y straight from the still – comes out clear. The amber color we're used to in our whiskies is imparted by the years spent aging in wooden barrels. American clear whiskey simply skips that step, giving customers a clear spirit that can be used in cocktails just a you would vodka or gin, just with a different flavor – while skipping the time-intensive aging processs.

White Owl Whisky takes a different approach. Unlike in the United States where regulations don't mandate that a whisky needs to be aged, Canadian rules are closer to those in Scotland: a whisky must be aged for at least three years in wooden barrels to be called whisky. White Owl does even better, with some of the spirits contained therein having been aged for ten years. Its makers Highwood Distillers of Alberta have filtered it extensively through charcoal until the color is gone, but the flavor stays.

The result can be enjoyed neat or on the rocks like any other whisky, or mixed into cocktails for a fresh take on the Bloody Caesar – a Canadian version of the Bloody Mary that adds clam juice and which Highwood calls the Clam WOW (White Owl Whisky) – or the Night Owl, an intriguing alternative to the usual Vodka/Red Bull.

Compass Box president John Glaser is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the brand with a new expression called Flaming Heart blend.

For Flaming Heart, Glaser says he sought to create an unusual balance among sweet, peat and spice that he'd found in an early Compass Box limited edition he called Eleuthera. "Eleuthera was this lovely balance of sweet and and fruity, with spice and peat," he said, while drawing the comparison.

Compass Box's 10th Anniversary Flaming Heart malt Scotch whisky is being produced in a limited release of 4,000 bottles (1,800 available in the U.S.). It should be available at better whisky shops in the major U.S. markets, as well as abroad by October 25.

Compass Box is a blender, not a distiller. The company offers five "base" labels--Asyla (malt and grain blend), Oak Cross (10- to 12-year-old Highland single malts), The Peat Monster (10- to 16-year Islay, south shore and Ardmore blend), The Spice Tree (10- and 12-year Highland blend), and Hedonism (12- to 28-year whiskies).

Flaming Heart is made from single malt whiskies from six distilleries located in the northern Highlands and Islands. Primarily whiskies from distilleries located in the villages of Brora (Highlands), Port Askaig (Islay) and the Isle of Mull (Islands), 40% was aged in refill American oak, while 31% was aged in first-fill American oak and 29% in new French oak.

New York's chic Royalton, which started the boutique hotel craze when it first opened back in 1988, has just launched Forty Four (above), a stylish new bar / lounge curated by a team of all-star mixologists known as The Cocktail Collective. Occupying the hotel's former Brasserie 44 space with the addition of a square bar at what used to be the entrance to the restaurant, Forty Four's decor is a mixture of rich dark woods, leather upholstery, metal accents and innovative lighting. Selected from the best cocktail bars in the country, the founding members of The Cocktail Collective have created a menu of classics paying homage to the finest hotel bars for the new space. Meanwhile Royalton's Executive Chef Scott Ekstrom, formerly of Daniel and Oceana, has created a modern menu of small plates to compliment the cocktails including Black Lime Shrimp Cocktail, Parmesan Risotto Poppers, White Miso Tuna and Nueske Bacon Crisps.

The drinks list includes the Maiden's Prayer (gin, calvados, Cocchi Americano, and apricot liqueur served up with a twist); The Pharaoh Cooler (a tequila highball featuring fresh organic watermelon and lime juices, house-made grenadine, a hint of cane syrup and a few dashes of rosewater), and a Champagne Cobbler (champagne poured tall over crushed ice with muddled citrus zest, sugar, Peychaud's bitters and a crown of fresh fruits in season). In addition they've come up with a "punch" menu for large groups designed to replace "passé" bottle service. The founding members of The Cocktail Collective include Richard Boccato from Pain Killer in New York City; John Lermayer from The Florida Room in South Beach and Woodward in Boston; Simon Ford, a global cocktail ambassador based in New York City; Willy Shine from Contemporary Cocktails, Inc. in New York City; Misty Kalkofen from Drink in Boston; and Eric Alperin from The Varnish in Los Angeles.

Four Roses 2010 single barrel, barrel-strength limited edition Bourbon has been out a few months, but it was only recently that I caught up with it for a sample. I wish I had come on it sooner.

Four Roses newest was aged 17 years, an uncommonly long time for Bourbon. The occasion for the release is the 100-year anniversary of the distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Bourbon aged that long can turn out mighty woody. But these folks didn't let that happen. The notes are warm caramel, spiced oranges and cloves. The smooth mouth feel belies the high-proof content. But then the liquid gold seems to run down to your ankles, and warms you from within.

There are about 2,300 bottles of the 100th Anniversary Limited Edition to go around, retailing at between $75 and $100 a bottle. I'd recommend this to any whiskey cellar. And think about buying two--one to drink and one to shelf.

Chivas Brothers launched its latest collaboration with fashion designer Christian Lacroix – a luxury limited-edition version of its super-premium Scotch whisky Chivas Regal 18-year old. Following on the success of the Chivas 12 year-old magnum by Christian Lacroix last year, the new edition of Chivas 18yo will be available in selected travel retail outlets starting in November.

Chivas Regal 18 Year Old by Christian Lacroix features a brocade presentation box in French jacquard, with a mirrored interior, while the Chivas label on the bottle is also embroidered in jacquard. The bottle features an intricate "metallic" design reminiscent of Lacroix's work on the Chivas 12-year old magnum. Only 3,000 bottles of the Lacroix 18 will be available, with around one-third allocated to the duty free market at a retail price of $495.

In November Paris Charles de Gaulle airport will mark the world premiere of Chivas 18 Year Old by Christian Lacroix, with the bottle making its debut at Aelia's stores in terminals 2C and 2E. The following month the limited edition will be rolled out to World Duty Free's stores in London Heathrow terminals 3, 4 and 5, before the product is launched in duty free outlets in Moscow and New York JFK. In the New Year, the limited edition will be introduced to key airports in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, including Dubai, Singapore Changi and Hong Kong.

Given that the first two "Stoli Originals" ad campaigns featured Hugh Hefner and actress Julia Stiles it was anyone's guess who the third might be. Proving that Twitter and its founders have hit the big time, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone is the new Stoli Original. As with previous Originals Hugh Hefner and Julia Stiles, Biz will be appearing in print ads as well as TV spots that launch tomorrow, Oct. 19, 2010.

The print ads feature Biz Stone, Twitter Pioneer, seated at a table having a drink with himself, Biz Stone, Nerd of the Year. In the commercial Biz the "Nerd of the Year" and Biz the "Twitter Pioneer" discuss whether or not Twitter is "meaningless babble" or the future of communication. There will be a Twitter cocktail party tomorrow hosted by @stoli on Twitter in celebration of the platform that Biz co-founded.

Ordinarily, the idea of a 200 ml sample bottle of scotch disappearing would hardly be news-worthy. But this, as you might have surmised, is no ordinary scotch. What we're dealing with here is a 70-year old malt from the obscure Mortlach distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, presented by the independent bottlers at Gordon & MacPhail.

Naturally at that age – reportedly the oldest ever bottled – the rare single malt wasn't bottled in great quantities, and sold at a justifiably elevated price. The few 700 ml decanters offered sold at £10,000 apiece – on par with The Dalmore Sirius 58yo and the Highland Park 50yo – and a limited quantity of 200 ml bottles were sold at £2,500, promptly skyrocketing in value on the open market to around $6,000.

The Swedish importer Symposion International was allocated two of the former and three of the later. They were displayed at the recent Stockholm Beer & Whisky festival, where one of the smaller bottles went missing. The distributor has appealed to the press (that's us!) to help track down the rare bottle by publicizing the details of its disappearance: it went missing after the conclusion of the show, leading Symposion to surmise that whoever took it knew what s/he was looking for and had good knowledge of the exposition center where it was held. Although the presentation box was taken with the sample, the back of the case was left behind along with the packaging that went around it. Have any tips as to its whereabouts? Contact Symposion International.