MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM RALFY!

From everyone at Springbank, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

KWM Whisky Advent 2017 Day 24 – Kilchoman 2007 KWM 10 Year

The Isle of Islay is the home to some of the most iconic distilleries in Scotland: Bowmore, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Bruichladdich and more. It is a Mecca for whisky lovers the world over, and when Anthony Wills had a dream to open his own distillery Islay was the only place to do it. He didn’t want to build a large modern distillery when the barley is trucked in and the spirit trucked away. The industry has changed a lot over the last century, and some of the charm and tradition has been lost along the way. With Kilchoman (pronounced Kil-ho-man) Anthony wanted to build a farm distillery, returning Islay’s whisky industry to its roots.

Kilchoman not only malts some of its barley on site, but it grows it in the fields surrounding the distillery. The distillery was founded at Rockside Farm on the Western side of Islay. For a few short years it was the westernmost distillery in Scotland. An even smaller distillery on the Isle of Lewis bares this honour today. Rockside farm is located a mile inland from the beautiful white sands of Machir Bay, and beyond that lies thousands of miles of open ocean until you hit the east coast of Canada. For most of the 11+ years it has now been producing whisky there was a bit of an uneasy relationship between Kilchoman and the farm, that came to an end a couple years ago, when the distillery literally bought the farm.

In addition to producing the whisky on site, Kilchoman is also one of the few distilleries in Scotland to bottle on site. Would it disappoint you to learn that some of the best know whisky brands in Scotland are reduced to bottling strength with de-ionized city tap water? Both Kilchoman and Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay bottle their whiskies with the same water they use to produce them.

With more than a decade of distilling behind it, and demand that seemingly outstrips supply each and every year, Kilchoman has a lot of wind in its sails. The distillery is in the midst of a big expansion, at least by Kilchoman’s standards, with production set to more than double from 200,000L a year, to more than 450,000L a year. This might sound like a lot, but it is still less than 1/8^th of Laphroaig’s production and not even 7% of Caol Ila’s. But still fans of this bold but smooth Islay malt, can expect to see a lot more of it in the decades ahead.

And more importantly, this year we have a special treat. To help us celebrate our 25^th Anniversary, Founder and Owner Anthony Wills was kind enough to let us select and bottle one of Kilchoman’s oldest casks. Our 2007 Kilchoman is the oldest whisky from the distillery to be sold in Canada, and it doesn’t disappoint. A sign of even greater things to come!

Kilchoman 2007 KWM – 56.6% – Ex-Bourbon Barrel – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: creamy, decadent and briny with a whiff of smoke from the coals of a smouldering beach fire; classic Kilchoman fresh lemon, goat cheese and Old English Butterscotch; smoked mussels and pan seared scallops. Palate: big, sweet, oily and malty; sweet vanilla and butterscotch morph into tendrils of vanilla, chewy malt and tarry-medicinal-peat; more lemon and goat cheese, firm toasted oak, fennel and Dutch licorice; underneath it all a thick layer of ripe orchard fruits. Finish: bold, long and rich yet smooth and so so salty: more Dutch licorice, juicy malt and tarry-peat; the smouldering beach fire returns with some sweet vanilla, lemon and orchard fruit. Comment: we are honoured that Anthony Wills was willing to share one of these precious early vintage Kilchomans will us; bottled just days past its 10th birthday!” – $200 for 700ml – or – $30 of 50ml

2017 Bartender Shootout Champion, Jacob Johnson, prepares his cocktail for the judges (credit: Rich Goodwin)

Wyoming Whiskey Crowns Rocky Mountain Bartender Shootout Champion

KIRBY, WY (Dec. 7, 2017)— Wyoming Whiskey has crowned Jacob Johnson of Aspen’s Element 47 bar within The Little Nell hotel as the 2017 Ski Town Showdown Champion. His signature cocktail, coined “The Sun Also Rises”, stole the hearts and taste buds of a discerning panel of judges.

After two regional competitions between over two dozen bartenders in Aspen, CO and Jackson, WY late this fall, Wyoming Whiskey brought five finalists from each location up to a festive final competition held at the Pink Garter Theater in Jackson, WY on Dec. 1.

The focus of the event was to create the best Wyoming Whiskey cocktail the West has ever seen. Wyoming Whiskey Ambassador and world-renowned cocktail guru, David Kaplan of Death & Co. judged both the regional and final competitions. Reigning WW Shootout Champion, Chad Taylor, and Arbor Snowboard athlete, Mark Carter, judged the Finals alongside Kaplan.

Bartender Shootout finalists pose for a photo with the judges and emcees (Credit: Rich Goodwin)

“Here’s to all of our participating bartenders who had the guts to be judged in a rowdy venue.  They showed a greater passion for this competition than we ever expected.” said David DeFazio, COO of Wyoming Whiskey. “And a round of applause for Jacob who started a rivalry that will be revisited for years to come.  He crushed it.”

Emcee Jeff Moran (left) toasts with Wyoming Whiskey Co-Founder David DeFazio (Credit: Rich Goodwin)

Johnson’s creation secured him the $2,500 cash purse, a pair of Blizzard skis and Tecnica ski boots, $500 for the charity of his choice, and in true Wyoming fashion, the coveted Ski Town Showdown Champion’s belt buckle.

1st Place —Jacob Johnson, Element 47 at The Little Nell in Aspen, CO  

“The Sun Also Rises”

•  2 oz Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon
• .5 oz Sierra Maestro Oloroso Sherry (15 Year)
•  1 Barspoon Bols Crème de Cacao White
•  1 Barspoon Pernod Absinthe Supérieure
•  Pinch of Salt
•  Rosemary Ice Ball

2nd Place— Amber Pollock, Backwards Distilling in Casper, WY

“No Unnecessary Travel”

•   1.5 oz Wyoming Whiskey Outryder Straight American Whiskey
•    .75 oz Graham’s Six Grapes Reserve Port
•    .5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
•    .5 oz Almond Orgeat
•   2 Barspoon Allspice Dram

3rd Place—Christina Molofsky,  Piste Mountain Bistro at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort 

“Newton’s Dilemma”

•   2 oz Wyoming Whiskey Outryder Straight American Whiskey
•   1 oz Granny Smith Apple Juice
•   .5 oz Genepy des Alpes
•   Garnish: Small Pine Branch

Participants walked away with gear from sponsors such as Blizzard Skis, Tecnica, NewWest Knifeworks, Arbor Snowboards, Ibex, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Mountain Khakis.

Stay caught up on all things WW by becoming a Whiskey Baron. You’ll receive the latest news from Wyoming Whiskey direct to your inbox. For more frequent updates, follow Wyoming Whiskey on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Wyoming Whiskey

Based in Kirby, Wyoming, Wyoming Whiskey has a simple goal: to create America’s next great bourbon. The company and product is a collaboration between its partners and 97,818 square miles of Wyoming. The Mead family first came to Wyoming as ranchers in 1890 and the state defines them, and their whiskey.  They use the finest corn, wheat, barley, and water from the Big Horn Basin and promote Wyoming’s natural and human resources.  Every drop of this bourbon is 100% Wyoming. To learn more, visit http://www.wyomingwhiskey.com/.

Festive Greetings! We trust you are all well and easing yourself into the holiday season.  Or if you’re like the majority of us here at Springbank you’re kicking yourself for leaving everything to last minute, trying to find retailers who will still deliver before Christmas (not many to the bottom of the Mull of Kintyre) and trying to find enough places around the house to hide your Springbank collection before the Father in Law arrives.

As we will shortly close the distillery and office for Christmas we thought we would send you a final newsletter for 2017 to recap on a very busy year and preview the start of 2018.

2017 has undoubtedly been one of the distillery’s busiest, with major renovations works to our famous malt barns, installation of a new bottling line, lots of new production staff, our busiest Malts Festival ever and 5 newborn babies just the tip of the iceberg!

The sales team have been active as usual travelling across the globe to participate in 49 whisky shows and conduct almost 100 tastings. No bungee jumping or tastings aboard Nuclear Submarines this year although Ronan claims to have scaled 2,128m to the top of Mont Pilatus in Luzern for an epic Springbank selfie after Whisky Schiffs…(He thinks we don’t know there is a cable car all the way to the top) and Melanie enjoyed a whisky evening at the UK’s Ambassador residence in Budapest.  She was disappointed that no Ferrero Rocher was offered.

The Society continues to grow with an additional 548 new members this year while more and more fans make the pilgrimage to visit us in Campbeltown with visitor numbers increasing 17% from 2016.

In a parody of the Twelve Days of Christmas we can festively summarise our year as;

12 new staff,

11 weeks renovations,

10 year old local barley,

 9 thousand bottles,

 8 weeks whisky school,

 7 missed flights,

 6 hours peat smoke,

 5 newborn babies,

 4 ton mashes,

 3 new flagpoles,

 2 weeks Christmas holidays,

 and 1 new bottling line!

2018 is set to be just as busy with more renovations, full time malting, the Campbeltown Malts Festival (23rd-25th May) and who knows how many newborns!

New Releases

What better way to beat the January blues than tucking into some of our new releases.  February will be a busy month with three Springbank heavy-weights hitting the shelves;

Springbank 12yo cask strength 56.3%

The latest 12yo cask strength follows the normal maturation recipe of 70% sherry and 30% bourbon and will be bottled at 56.3% ABV.

Springbank 25yo 

The 5th annual release of Springbank 25yo will be available worldwide in limited quantities.  This version departs from recent editions of the 25yo where maturation combined bourbon and sherry casks into a final port pipe vatting, whereas this edition has been matured exclusively in refill sherry casks, characterising the whisky with the soft rich fruits associated with classic Springbanks.

Longrow Red 11yo 55.9%

This Longrow Red Cabernet Franc from De Toren Private Cellar in Stellenbosch, South Africa is the follow up from the previous Malbec release from the same winery. It will be bottled at cask strength having spent an initial nine years in bourbon barrels before a final two in Cabernet Franc barriques.

The Sales team will be straight into a busy travel schedule. Here’s where you can catch up with them in the coming months;

Sales Team Events

January 

12-13th      Harrow Whisky Festival, The Grim’s Dyke Hotel, London (Grant)

13th        Arctic Whisky Festival,Tromsø, Norway (Ronan)

15-22nd    Canada Tasting Tour (Melanie)

        15-16th  Edmonton retailer visits and tastings

        17th Edmonton Whisky Festival         www.edmontonwhiskyfestival.ca

        18th Calgary Whisky Festival         www.calgarywhiskyfestival.ca

        20th Victoria Whisky Festival         www.victoriawhiskyfestival.com

        21 – 22nd Vancouver Whisky Classique         www.whiskyclassique.com

19-20th    Whisky Weekend Amsterdam, Holland. www.whiskyamsterdam.nl

        (Kilkerran only event) David

February 

26th Feb – 2nd Mar:  Australia Tasting Tour. Ranald will be representing Springbank down under in partnership with       Cadenhead’s who will also be touring. David will also be in the country on these dates for a       Kilkerran tasting tour.

March

2-4th         DramFest, Christchurch, New Zealand. www.dramfest.co.nz

        (Ranald & David)

5-12th        New Zealand tasting tour. (Joint Springbank, Kilkerran & Cadenhead tour with David, Ranald and Cameron)

8-10th         Whiskyschiffs Luzern    www.whiskyschiff-luzern.ch

10th        Fife Whisky Festival      www.fifewhiskyfestival.com (Grant)

16-17th    Midlands Whisky Festival  www.whiskyfest.co.uk (Grant)

19-23rd    Norwegian Tasting Tour. Dates and locations tbc (Ronan)

That’s all from us for 2017, our office is closed from 1pm Wednesday 20th December 2017 until 4th January 2018.  The Campbeltown Cadenhead’s shop will be working on reduced opening hours and tours;

Wednesday 20th December     9am – 1pm     (10am & 11.30am tour only)

Thursday 21st December         9am – 5pm

Friday 22nd December         9am – 5pm

Saturday 23rd December         9am – 5pm

Sunday 24th December         12pm – 4pm   (No tours)

Monday 25th December         Closed

Tuesday 26th December         Closed

Wednesday 27th December     Closed

Thursday 28th December         11am – 4pm (1.30pm tour only)

Friday 29th December         11am – 4pm (1.30pm tour only)

Saturday 30th December         11am – 4pm (1.30pm tour only)

Sunday 31st December         Closed until Thursday 4th January 2018

From everyone at Springbank, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

To join the Springbank Society please contact them at society@springbank.scot

DECEMBER AUCTION NOW LIVE

(ends Sunday 7^th January 2018)

…place your bids at www.whiskyhammer.co.uk

With an incredible selection of whiskies and other fine spirits there is certainly something for everyone – whether you are looking to collect, invest, enjoy!

Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 189: Caol Ila 15 Year Old 2002 Valinch & Mallet

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries an independently bottled Caol Ila from 2002. Valinch & Mallet was founded in 2015 and has thus not yet appeared on everyone’s radar. Mark wants to correct this as he feels they have bottled quite a few gems so far. This Caol Ila matured on a sherry cask that yielded only 319 bottles at cask strength.

https://youtu.be/r0ej-3m-eHk

KWM Whisky Advent Day 23 – Gordon Macphail Highland Park 8 Year

Highland Park was until recently Scotland’s northernmost distillery. Officially established in 1798 it was also one of the first to be licensed. But the distillery’s actual origins are shrouded in the mists of time, and the fog which frequently blankets the Orkney archipelago. The distillery was either founded by the legendary and larger than life priest Magnus Eunson, or a farmer named David Robertson. There is also some indication the distillery may have originally been called Rosebank, and later Kirkwall. But for today lets work on the assumption the distillery was established as Highland Park by Magnus Eunson.

Before he took his distillery legit, he was said to have been a prolific illicit distiller and smuggler. In one tale he caught forewarning of a raid by the exciseman, or gauger… Legends suggest he hid his barrels in a church and covered them with a white cloth. When the guagers arrived they found the men kneeling in prayer. Eunson is said to have whispered “small pox”, and that was all the taxmen needed to hear!

Highland Park is one of the most beautiful distilleries in Scotland, tucked into the hills on the outskirts of the Orkney capital of Kirkwall. The buildings are built from an assortment of dark stones, which if memory serves, would have originally served as ballast in the many ships that visited the island. The island was the final stop most British ships traveling to Hudson Bay would have made. They would have taken on provisions including fresh water and whisky. One of the earliest purchasers of whisky from the island would have been British traders sailing for Hudson’s Bay. By the 1850s Highland Park had a reputation for good quality single malt, and was also supplying the biggest blended whisky brands: Ballantines, Dewars and Chivas with stock.

Highland Park is one of less than a dozen distilleries to retain its tradition floor maltings. This malting accounts for about 20% of Highland Park’s production, and is heavily peated with Orkney peat. Orkney peat is famous for having a lighter more delicate impact than other Scottish peats, owing to the archipelago’s geography and climate. The Orkneys are so far north, and exposed to such power winds, that few trees can take root. As a result the islands peat does not contain any wood or crucially pine needles, which give a more acidic, medicinal profile. The 20% of heavily peated malt is blended with unpeated malt from the mainland before mashing.

Gordon Macphail Highland Park 8 Year – 43% – Refill Sherry Hogshead & Ex-Bourbon Barrels – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: honeyed and waxy; very herbal and floral with heather honey, the whiff of a distant sea breeze and kippers in a pan; diced pineapple and dried apricots. Palate: creamy, waxy and subtly smoky; floral, heather honey, very maritime and savoury with more kippers; more dried apricots and pineapple cubes; still floral and herbal. Finish: a touch nutty with cigar ash, fading fruits, honey and cream. Comment: this is young but a maturity beyond its years; very pleasant, layered and approachable; a gateway whisky for those afraid of peat. ” – $75 for 700ml