It’s time again for an update on everything Springbank.
Currently the world is facing uncertain times and, from everyone at Springbank, we hope that yourself, family and friends are all doing your utmost to keep each other safe. Following the advice issued by the UK and Scottish Governments on March 23rd, we have shut down our operations at Springbank, Glengyle and Cadenhead’s until further notice. This does mean that there may be a few delays in regard to any new releases but we hope that business will return to normal before long.
This month we have an update on sales teams events, upcoming releases, a round-up of distillery news, letting you know what has been happening (and what we are planning for the future) at Springbank and Glengyle, in Campbeltown and beyond.
Distillery News
After the winter break we resumed production in January, with the first mash of the year taking place on Tuesday the 13th of January. Prior to this we had a new lyne arm fabricated and installed on the wash still, as the old one had sprung a hole and was too thin to weld repair. We were sure to get it made to the exact same size and dimensions as the old one so that nothing changes with our wash distillation.
The maltings didn’t start up until later that month, with all our malt bins having been filled by the time we shut down for Christmas there was no room for any more until the 24th of January. Fear not, our malting team were put to good use in bringing all the casks out from the warehouse for our annual ‘vatting season’ whereby we vat all our Springbank, Longrow, Hazelburn and Kilkerran products for the following year to allow the different cask types to marry. This is a very labour intensive process and takes 3 months to complete properly but our skilled production team made it look easy, as usual.
Our bottling hall has continued to bottle all of our famous single malts, and great Cadenhead’s bottlings as well, including a number of special releases that you’ll be able to enjoy later this year.
And finally, the new warehouse is nearing completion! We are hoping that by this summer we will be able to show everyone this amazing new facility.
Sales Team Events
The sales team have been grounded in Campbeltown for the time being until it is safe to resume our travelling. Here’s an update on what we were up to at the start of the year and our plans for future events (fingers crossed we can make them).
Once again we have been travelling far and wide to share the story of Springbank and Kilkerran. David has been busy at work (sunning himself) in New Zealand and Australia. Cara enjoyed her time on Sweden’s Cinderella cruise but came back with a cough so has been drinking plenty of Springbank to warn any virus off. Nicole has been settling into the bright city lights moving from Islay to Campbeltown in between trips to Canada and Prague. Melanie has been keeping us all in line at Campbeltown HQ whilst Grant has been up and down the UK spreading the good word of Springbank and Kilkerran.
Future Events
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, all future sales team events have been suspended. We will follow government guidelines and hope to be back on the road visiting as many of you as possible soon.
Please remember, the Events Section of the Springbank Website is updated whenever we have new information to share with you all.
Springbank Website – Events Page
New Releases
As we approach summer we shall be releasing some new batches of our regular favourites and a new release from Kilkerran further in advance.
Kilkerran Heavily Peated Batch 3
The next edition of our peat in progress will soon be available – the exact launch date will be determined, in part, by when our staff are able to return to work. This batch will be 80% Bourbon to 20% Sherry maturation and still packs a punch of peat and tropical fruits.
Springbank 21yo
An eclectic mix of bourbon, sherry, port and rum casks have been selected and vatted for the legendary Springbank 21yo, which is scheduled to bottled and released in May.
Hazelburn Sherrywood
Our annual release of Hazelburn fully matured in Oloroso sherry casks is shaping up beautifully and is almost ready to be bottled as a 12yo.
Longrow 18yo
The rich, smokey and complex character which is Longrow 18yo 2020 edition will be ready to enjoy during the long summer nights. This bottling has been drawn from a mixture of bourbon, sherry and rum casks.
After summer the society can also look forward to Glengyle’s first Kilkerran 16yo release, look out for Society alerts and social media updates for more information when this will be available.
Campbeltown Malts Festival Cancelled
It was with a heavy heart that we cancelled Campbeltown Malts Festival 2020 which was due to take place in May. However, we took the decision to protect our employees, community members and customers from any further spread of Covid-19. We are disappointed that we won’t be enjoying a few drams together in Campbeltown this way but we are working on another project at this time so stay tuned for updates on how we can enjoy some whisky together.
Although this year’s festival won’t be going ahead we hope to still see you at Campbeltown Malts Festival 2021.
Society On Tour
Here at Springbank HQ we have been racking our brains to enrich our Society members’ Springbank experience and give you all something back to show our appreciation for your support. After great deliberation we have come up with “Society on Tour.” This concept will see our sales team travelling the globe to hold Society member tastings with an eclectic selection of samples.
Some of you may have been lucky enough to come along to our first Society on tour tasting in Edinburgh this February. For those who couldn’t make it, don’t worry we are already planning future events.
Social Media
You can follow Springbank on Social Media:
Facebook – Official Springbank Whisky
Twitter – @Springbank1828
Instagram- springbank1828
You can follow Kilkerran Single Malt on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram too.
Slainte,
The Springbank Team
