Naughty Boy !

Taking the law into his own hands: Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson, 19, 'uses fake ID' to buy $170 bottle of whisky.... after complaining about drinking age

By MIKE LARKIN

It seems like Josh Hutcherson decided to take the law into his own hands after complaining about the US legal drinking age.

For the 19-year-old Hunger Games star was spotted leaving supermarket Ralphs in Los Angeles with a bottle of whisky, despite the fact you have to be 21 to buy alcohol.

A source told TMZ the cheeky teen actor had used a fake ID to trick a shop worker into selling him an expensive single malt.

It seems like Josh Hutcherson decided to take the law into his own hands after complaining about the US legal drinking age.

For the 19-year-old Hunger Games star was spotted leaving supermarket Ralphs in Los Angeles with a bottle of whisky, despite the fact you have to be 21 to buy alcohol.

A source told TMZ the cheeky teen actor had used a fake ID to trick a shop worker into selling him an expensive single malt.

Booze run: Josh Hutcherson was spotted buying a bottle of whisky in Sherman Oaks despite being underage

And he was spotted looking particularly pleased with himself as he strolled out of the Sherman Oaks shop with the $170 bottle of Macallans on April 18.

The star had famously groused on the subject of the drinking age of consent just a few weeks ago.

He told a TMZ cameraman: 'I think the age to go to war is 18, so I think the drinking age should be 18 as well.

Young connoisseur: He showed taste beyond his years by buying Scots single malt Macallan

No doubt the actor, who played Jennifer Lawrence's love interest Peeta Mellark in the runaway box office smash, thought he had gotten away with his little spot of chicanery as he strolled off with his booze.

However he never realised he was being watched, and could now be prosecuted.

The maximum punishment he could face for buying alcohol underage is 6 months in jail, though it is very unlikely he would actually end up spending time behind bars.

However there could be worse news for Ralph's, as authorities could also go after the company for selling to a minor.

A spokesman said: 'We strictly enforce all laws relating to the sale of alcohol to minors.  

'We will investigate these allegations and take any steps necessary.'

No doubt Josh's burgeoning legion of female fans may be concerned their idol is already getting stuck into such hard liquor.

The bottle he bought, which seemed to be Estate Reserve, is 43 per cent alcohol.

It is distilled and bottled in Moray in the Scottish Highlands.

The Mail Online contacted Josh's spokesperson for comment, but has yet to receive a response.

Diamonds are expensive !

Queen's ransom for diamond jubilee scotch

THIRSTY? If you have $157,000 to spare, you can lubricate that dry throat with the world's most expensive scotch -- the 60-year-old John Walker Diamond Jubilee.

Made to commemorate the Queen's 60 years on the throne, the ultimate in premium spirits is a blend of malt and grain whiskies distilled in 1952, packaged in a Baccarat crystal decanter with a silver collar adorned by a half-carat diamond, and boxed up in a wooden chest made of oak from the royal estate at Sandringham.

Just 63 bottles have been produced - one for the Queen, two for the distiller's library, and 60 for sale at pound stg. 100,000 apiece.

Jonathan Driver, global whisky ambassador for Johnnie Walker parent company Diageo, said the price was a record for a newly bottled whisky, with only the rarest of one-off bottles with historical significance having sold for more.

$157,000 for a wee dram

He described the flavour, which only prospective buyers are allowed to experience, as "like mountains in the distance, with a waterfall running through them that you may never see again". The normal phrases used to describe whisky simply did not apply to a product of this calibre, he added.

"It's 1952 in a bottle . . . we will never be able to make this again, because we don't have the material - it will be here for a short time and then gone," Mr Driver said.

Collectors in the US, Canada, the Middle East and China - the fastest-growing market for scotch whisky and premium spirits in the world - have already purchased bottles.

Only one bottle has been allocated for sale in Australia.

The company is hoping the frisson surrounding the Jubilee whisky will rub off on its more mainstream range of Johnnie Walker, the best-selling scotch whisky brand in the world.

In Australia, sales of super premium scotch whisky - defined as anything costing more than $50 a bottle - surged by 11.8 per cent over the 12 months to the end of February, while the overall spirits market declined by 0.8 per cent.

Diageo, which also owns Bundaberg rum, Smirnoff vodka and Tanqueray gin, has put out a range of new upmarket products including white rum Bundaberg Five, launched last year as a competitor to top-shelf market leader Bacardi.

In the Johnnie Walker range, the company has augmented its red, black and blue-labelled bottles with "double black" (extra smoky) and platinum-label whiskies.

Whisky meets the Movies !

Role out the barrel as whisky expert lands acting job in The Angel’s Share

A still from The Angels Share with Charles MacLean, far left

By CRAIG BROWN
Published on Sunday 22 April 2012 00:00

AS ONE of Scotland’s leading authorities on whisky, it is not unusual for Charles MacLean to be called upon by film makers making movies involving malt to give them the benefit of his expertise.

However, when he was asked to be a consultant on renowned director Ken Loach’s latest film The Angels’ Share, MacLean’s knowledge and experience propelled him from behind the scenes to an acting role.

A bittersweet comedy set in Scotland, The Angels’ Share tells the story of Robbie, a Glasgow boy locked in a family feud who has become a father for the first time and is looking for a way out. While serving a community service order, he meets three other lost souls who turn to an extremely rare and expensive malt whisky as a way to escape a life of poverty.

MacLean, 60, is cast in the role for which he has had many years’ preparation: that of a whisky expert, dispensing advice and wisdom on the Water of Life.

The film is the creation of Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty, whose credits include My Name Is Joe, The Wind That Shakes The Barley and Looking For Eric.

Loach is one of Britain’s most influential directors, whose work includes such influential films as: Kes, Up The Junction, Cathy Come Home and My Name Is Joe.

Based in Edinburgh, Mac Lean has written numerous books on the subject and acted as a consultant to the whisky industry who elected him Master of the Quaich, its highest accolade, in 2009.

Approached in 2010 to help Laverty with his research, during the first year MacLean’s involvement with the film was purely advisory.

However, it was when he took the production team, including Loach, to a whisky sale at Bonhams the auctioneers, for whom he is a consultant, that MacLean inadvertently landed the role of Rory McAllister.

“On the day, I was asked to speak for 10 to 15 minutes before the auction, just to set up the provenance of the bottle, and they phoned up the next and said: ‘Thanks very much, it was very useful, and by the way Ken would like you to have the role of the whisky expert in the film’.”

Even before its general release next month, The Angels’ Share is gathering critical acclaim, having been accepted for the Cannes Film Festival next month, and being in the running for its Palme d’Or Award. However, MacLean hopes that, however the film performs, it will boost appreciation of whisky in the same way the 2004 US comedy Sideways did for Californian pinot noir wine.

“It’s a charming film and it emphasises the appreciation of malt whisky, and that’s a good message in these absurd times with all this concern about binge drinking. People don’t go binge drinking on malt whisky,” he said. “Just as they don’t binge on fine wine.”

Tasmanian Taxes are terrible !

Battling mean-spirited taxes

SLUGGED: Hellyers Rd Distillery General manager Mark Littler samples a drop. Picture: CHRIS KIDD

TASMANIA'S whisky producers plan to lobby the Federal Government to give the industry some tax relief to stop excise and GST payments eating up more than a third of the price of a bottle of spirits.

Nine local whisky producers, including Burnie's Hellyers Rd Distillery, have joined forces to create the Tasmanian Whisky Producers Association.

Hellyers Rd Distillery general manager Mark Littler said Australian taxes on a 700ml bottle of original aged 10-year-old single malt whisky amounted to $24.13. The GST component added another $9 to the tax burden.

"Some relief in this area would help the industry grow and we will be discussing how to lobby for change," Mr Littler said yesterday as he "nosed" the distillery's first 10-year-old whisky.

Hellyers Rd Distillery, which produced its first spirit in 1999, has come of age and the aged single malt whisky will be bottled and labelled in July.

The distillery has been forced to bring its bottling season forward this year to cater for demand.

A Distillery gets approved !

Controversial new whisky distillery gets the go-ahead

A controversial new whisky distillery on the remote Ardnamurchan peninsula has been backed unanimously by councillors.

A planning application from Adelphi Whisky Distillery Ltd was approved at a packed meeting at Acharacle yesterday which attracted around 50 members of the public.

Highland Council leader and Ardnamurchan resident Michael Foxley also told the meeting he was “disappointed” only five out of the 19-strong south area planning application committee had made the trip to Acharacle.

Goodbye to a whisky matriach .

Scotland's oldest woman, much-loved matriarch of the Glenfiddich whisky family, dies aged 110

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 18:44, 11 April 2012 | UPDATED: 18:20, 12 April 2012

Scotland's oldest person - a member of the famous Glenfiddich whisky family - has died at the age of 110.

Janet Roberts said the secret to her long life was 'hard work and laughter' when she celebrated the record birthday with a bash at the distillery last summer.

Tributes have been paid to the 'much loved' centenarian - who saw an extremely rare bottle of malt produced in her honour months before her death.

Janet Roberts, who has died aged 110, at the opening of Kininvie Distillery in 1990

Mrs Roberts, known to her nearest and dearest as 'The Wee Ja', died at her home near Dufftown, Moray, on Good Friday.

Born just months after the death of Queen Victoria, she was the last surviving grand-daughter of William Grant, the founder of Glenfiddich Distillery.

Mrs Roberts was the matriarch of the Grant family which still owns and runs William Grant & Sons Ltd.

The firm is one of the last remaining independent distillers in Scotland and best known as the producers of Glenfiddich - the world's leading single malt whisky.

Scotland's oldest person: Janet Roberts said the secret to her long life was 'hard work and laughter'

A family statement said Mrs Roberts had expressed a wish to remain in her home, just a few yards from the famous distillery, in her later years.

It added: 'The family would like to express their thanks to the team of dedicated people whose excellent standard of care meant that her wish was fulfilled.'

Mrs Roberts had no children but was described as a 'much loved' aunt and great aunt.

Born in the Cabrach, she descended on her mother's side from Alexander Grant, who fought at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 and lived to the age of 103.

She studied at both Glasgow and Edinburgh universities and practised law for many years.

It was while she was working with Edinburgh law firm McGrigor Donald that she met her future husband, Eric Roberts. They married in 1938, though he was soon drafted overseas to serve in the war.

Mrs Roberts died peacefully at her home at the age of 110 on Good Friday

Following Mrs Roberts' brother William's sudden death in 1953, her husband was persuaded to join the whisky trade and ended up serving as a director of William Grant & Son for 24 years.

He went on to become chairman of the firm but died in 1980.

Today, Mrs Roberts' nephew Charles serves as Life President to the company and her great-nephew Peter Grant Gordon is the current Chairman, though several other family members play significant role in running the firm.

The latest Sunday Times Rich List ranks the family business at around £950 million.

At her birthday celebrations last August, Mrs Roberts said her famous grandfather had taught her the key to success and a long, happy life.

She said: 'I've learned much from my grandfather, William Grant, who taught me the value of self-belief, hard work and determination.'

A party at the distillery's visitors' centre saw a unique spirit - the Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve - commissioned in her name.

The whisky had been poured into an oak barrel by the distillery's former malt master at Hogmanay 1955 and had been maturing for more than half her life.

In February, bottle No.2 of the reserve sold for £44,000 at an auction in London.

All proceeds from the sale have been donated to the charity Walking With The Wounded, which helps injured servicemen and women.

Glenfiddich chairman Peter Gordon said: 'We have lost an incredible woman.

'My great aunt Janet Roberts' contributions and unwavering support for the business and for the family members who did so much to make the company the success it is today is immeasurable.

'She lived a remarkable life, and witnessed great change at the Glenfiddich distillery over the past 110 years, and she will be sadly missed by all of us. She was a gracious Highland Lady.'

Sky is no limit to marketing opportunities !

Where no dram has gone before: Whisky company matures new malt in zero-G on the Space Station

• Whisky mixed with charcoal to see how zero-gravity affects flavours
• Mix will remain on Space Station for two years

The astronauts on the International Space Station are used to rocket fuel - but even so, a delivery of a container of rough, unmatured whisky must have come as a surprise.

Thankfully, the delivery was for an experiment, rather than an impromtu celebration, so the astronauts carried out their duties with their usual sober dedication. 

The Ardbeg Distillery on Islay blasted compounds of unmatured malt - known as new make spirit - to the International Space Station (ISS) in an unmanned cargo spacecraft on October 30 last year.

The Ardbeg Distillery on Islay blasted compounds of unmatured malt - known as new make spirit - to the International Space Station (ISS) in an unmanned cargo spacecraft on October 30 last year

The unmatured whisky was mixed with charred oak on board the space station to see how low gravity affected the maturation process

It also sent up particles of charred oak and, once the spacecraft docked at the ISS, the two sets of molecules were mixed.

Scientists want to understand how the two sets of compounds interact at close-to-zero gravity.

The molecules are tiny parts of the two substances known as terpenes - a set of chemicals which are often aromatic and flavour-active.

 

It is believed the experiment is the first time anyone has ever studied terpenes and other molecules in near-zero gravity.

The team are also measuring the molecules' interaction at normal gravity on Earth so they can compare the way the particles mature.

The molecules will stay on the ISS for at least two years so scientists can understand how they change in a near-zero gravity environment.

The normal, earthbound approach to distilling Islay malt: The Ardbeg Distillery usuallly relies on traditional methods, and Earth gravity, to create its award-winning malts

The experiment, unveiled at the Edinburgh International Science Festival today, is led by US-based space research company NanoRacks LLC.

The results could be used for different industries, including future generations of Ardbeg whisky.

Michael Johnson, chief technical officer of NanoRacks LLC, said: ‘By doing this microgravity experiment on the interaction of terpenes and other molecules with the wood samples provided by Ardbeg, we will learn much about flavours, even extending to applications like food and perfume.

‘At the same time it should help Ardbeg find new chemical building blocks in their own flavour spectrum.’

Dr Bill Lumsden, head of distilling and whisky creation at Ardbeg, who unveiled the experiment, said: ‘This experiment will throw new light on the effect of gravity on the maturation process. We are all tremendously excited by this experiment - who knows where it will lead?’