Springbank Society

Hope you are all well and that the weather where you are has been as nice as it has been in Campbeltown.

The moment we have all been waiting for is nearly upon us. The next Society bottle is nearly available… but not quite yet.

There are still a few days to go, however, I am pleased to be able to finally give you all some information about it. I know you have been waiting a while.

This newsletter is quite information heavy so please take your time to read it through, nothing here requires any of you to do anything immediately. I will give you all the information you need to purchase the new Society bottle throughout this email and most of it will be repeated when the bottle is officially released early next week.

Some members have requested that we send out a newsletter prior to the bottle being officially released to allow people to be “on the lookout” for the bottle rather than it suddenly being released with no warning at all. I agreed that this was a fairer way to release Society bottlings so this is why you are receiving an email today.

Springbank Society May 2017 Bottling

Springbank 9yo Sauternes

Springbank 9 years old

Cask type: Fresh Sauternes Hogsheads

Distilled: November 2007

Bottled: May 2017

Strength: 57.1%

Approximately 1100 bottles

Tasting notes: 

Nose: Dunnage warehouse; bruised fruits, sun dried raisins and treacle toffee with icing sugar and port notes appearing as the nose develops.

Taste: Syrupy texture, with earthy and oaky notes, prunes, redcurrants and bramble jam.

Finish: Chewy, sweet and rich like sticky toffee pudding and christmas cake; hints of treacle, brown sugar and dark cherries.

Let me be clear: the bottles are not available just yet and I will not be taking pre-orders.

Purchasing and delivery/collection

Please read this section carefully as it will make the whole process go as smoothly as possible.

In this section I shall explain some of the rules and procedures regarding purchasing a Society bottle. This will all be included again in the forthcoming email next week.

The bottle shall be available for £45.00 and initially it will be 1 per person however, once it becomes clear what the level of interest is, then it is possible you could get a second. 2 bottles per member will be the maximum, though. When you order a bottle next week, please state if you would be interested in a second bottle.

I will only be taking orders by email.  

I repeat, I will only be taking orders by email. 

When you first order a bottle, please tell me if any of the following things apply to you.

• If you would like a second bottle
• If you would like to collect it during the Campbeltown Malts Festival (very important)
• If you would like to collect it from one of our Cadenhead shops
• If you are based in Canada
• If you have any other delivery preferences (not covered by the points above) then it may be helpful, but not essential, if you would include them in your original email too.

Once you place your order you will receive an email back, letting you know that your order has been received and that a bottle has been reserved for you. As is usual with a Society release, this may take several days. Please do not be alarmed if you do not hear back immediately.

As I am sure you are all aware, this bottle is being released in close proximity to the Campbeltown Malts Festival. We could have waited until after the festival but that would have meant that people at the Festival could not collect their bottles so we have done our best to accommodate our guests.

As such, in the immediate aftermath of the release, we shall be prioritising orders for members who are attending the festival. These members can pay upon collection in the Campbeltown shop if they wish. After those orders have been arranged, then we shall begin to make contact with everyone else to arrange payment and delivery, where appropriate. This is where you will hear if you can receive a second bottle.

Due to the nature of this process, and the Malts Festival, it is likely that Monday 29th May will be the first day we can arrange for bottles to be shipped from Campbeltown to their destination.

Again, as is standard practice with Society bottles, if you wish for your Society bottle(s) to be sent to a Cadenhead shop on mainland Europe (Odense, Berlin, Cologne, Salzburg) you will pay for them upon collection. We have processes in place to make sure these bottles arrive much faster than they have done for previous releases.

If you plan to have your Society bottle(s) sent to the Edinburgh or London shops then there will be a slight change to the process when compared to previous releases. This time, deliveries to these shops will be handled in a similar way to when Society bottles are sent to the other Cadenhead shops. Instead of charging £2 per bottle and delivering them individually, we will not charge anything for delivery and they will be sent as part of the scheduled Cadenhead shipments.

New Addition to the Team

Because the Society is now so big and this is the largest number of bottles we have ever done, it is now no longer practical for it all to be done by one person. As such, from now on my colleague Lauren Anderson will also be on hand to answer your emails and process your orders. Lauren has worked for the company for 4 years, first in the bottling hall and has now moved to join us in the office. She is also the expert when it comes to packaging and dispatching your Society bottles. Hopefully, this will mean the process moves a little faster.

Campbeltown Cadenhead Shop

The staff in the Cadenhead shop here in Campbeltown have asked me to pass on a message to you all. If you plan on collecting any bottles from the shop during the Malts Festival, please get in touch with the shop as soon as you possibly can and let them know. This goes for ANY bottles, whether they are Society bottles, Springbank Distillery releases, Kilkerran bottles or anything from the extensive Cadenhead range. You can contact them using the details below:

T: +44 (0)1586 551710

E: shop@cadenhead.scot

Please give them as much notice and information as possible. Thank you.

WeChat

In addition to our existing social media platforms (you can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) we are now pleased to say we are on WeChat.

Name: Springbank Distillers

WeChat ID: SpringbankWhisky

Find us there and add us to see our posts.

I think that’s everything – like I said above, you will be hearing from me in the early part of next week when the bottle is officially released…

and then the madness begins!

Slainte

Nathan and Lauren

Nathan Currie

for the Springbank Society. Please contact Nathan to join the Springbank Society.