I hope you are all well. The excitement is building up here in Campbeltown, ready for all our visitors arriving next week for the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2015! We’re just getting everything into place for the events which will take place and we’re looking forward to meeting many of you very soon! Our Whisky Shop has recently undergone a major extension with walls being knocked down which lead to the shop next door and we can’t wait for you all to see it!

I’m just sending out the break down of events once again with a few details added, including information on the special bottlings which will be available at the Springbank Open Day.

Wednesday 20th May 2015

From 10am – Glen Scotia Open Day

At 1pm – Springbank Society Tasting in the Malt Barns at Springbank Distillery – FULLY BOOKED. For any members who will be attending this event, please arrive at the Malt Barns for 12.45pm, ready for the tasting starting at 1pm.

At 7pm – The Warehouse Dinner at Springbank Distillery – FULLY BOOKED. For members who are attending this, you should have already received an email with details about the evening. Please arrive at the Springbank Distillery gates for 7pm.

At 9.30pm – Whisky Quiz at Whisky Mac’s Bar & Grill. This will be free to enter and teams of up to 6 will be accepted. There is no need to pre-book your team for this.

As previously mentioned, the Ardshiel, Craigard House Hotel and Harbourview Grille at the Royal Hotel will also be hosting whisky related dinners for visitors who will not be attending our Warehouse Dinner on the Wednesday night. The menus are attached to this email so if you would like to book a table at any of the hotels, please contact them directly using the numbers at the foot of the menus. Please note that the Craigard House Hotel will be offering their whisky related menu from 19th-23rd May and not only on the Wednesday evening.

Thursday 21st May

As you are aware, Thursday will be the annual Springbank Open Day with events kicking off in the distillery yard at 11am. The following activities will be taking place throughout the day and evening:

From 11am-5pm:

• A range of masterclasses and warehouse tastings as follows:

            * 12pm // Kilkerran Masterclass with Jenny Karlsson

            * 12.30pm // The Distillery Manager’s Springbank Warehouse Tasting (FULLY BOOKED)

            * 1.30pm // Springbank Masterclass with Ranald and guests

            * 2.30pm // The Distillery Manager’s Springbank Warehouse Tasting (FULLY BOOKED)

            * 3pm // Cadenhead Masterclass with Mark Watt and Cameron McGeachy

            * 4.30pm // The Distillery Manager’s Springbank Warehouse Tasting (FULLY BOOKED)

• Free distillery tours
• A selection of over 25 stalls from local businesses
• The popular Warehouse Whisky Bar
• Fyne Ales
• Music from local musicians
• Hot Food and Cakes

From 6pm-9.30pm:

• Live Music in the yard from Kintyre Schools Pipe Band and popular local band THE WEE TOON TELLERS
• The Pizza ‘Volcano’ selling hand-made pizzas
• Drinks tent selling a selection of whisky, spirits and Fyne Ales
• The return of the popular ‘Spooks Tour’ around the distillery warehouses

A new addition to the day will be our ‘Blind Tasting Challenge’. This stall will be located in the yard and it will be £5 per go. There will be 4 different whiskies to taste and you will have to guess the type of whisky (they will all have been made at Springbank), type of cask and the age. Fiona and Janet from our distillery office will be in charge of this so remember to drop by and see how well you really know our whiskies!

You may notice that Cameron McGeachy will now be helping Mark Watt during the Cadenhead Masterclass. Cameron started work in our Campbeltown Cadenhead Shop at the end of March and will be doing various tasks such as conducting tours and tastings for visitors, working on the shop floor and also taking care of all our Cadenhead Club members. He will assist Mark in the Cadenhead Masterclass and is very much looking forward to the experience.

A reminder for anyone who has already booked tickets for the Masterclasses or Warehouse Tastings, there will be no ticket collection area at the Open Day this year. For the Masterclasses, names will simply be ticked off as you enter the Malt Barns so please arrive at the Malt Barns 15 minutes before your booked Masterclass begins. For the Warehouse Tastings with Gavin on Thursday and Mark on Friday, please arrive at the Distillery Office 15 minutes before the tasting is due to take place and the person in charge of the tasting will meet you there before heading round to the Warehouse.

During the course of the day, some of our staff members will be circulating with short surveys for visitors to complete. It would be great if you could help us out by answering a few questions to get feedback on certain issues. The survey should only take a couple of minutes and everyone who takes part will be given a Springbank Pin Badge so it’s definitely worth your time! 🙂

Friday 22nd May

In the last update, I told you we were looking into another activity to take place on the Friday as the boat trips could no longer take place because of the new marina not being ready in time. Unfortunately we were unable to secure another activity for this year so the final plan for Friday is:

At 11am: Architecture Tour of Campbeltown with David McEwan  (Free of Charge)

At 12pm:   Cadenhead Warehouse Tasting with Mark Watt  (£25 per person)

At 2pm: Heritage Tour of Campbeltown with Alex McKinven  (Free of Charge)

At 3pm:   Cadenhead Warehouse Tasting with Mark Watt  (£25 per person)

Booking is essential for the above tours and tastings and there are only a handful of spaces still available on each so if you would like to book a place on any then please email me to mairi@springbankwhisky.com asap.

Springbank Open Day Bottlings 

We have three exciting bottlings which will be bottled especially for Springbank Open Day 2015.

The first will be a Springbank 7yo which has been matured in a Fresh Sauternes Hogshead, bottled at 56.9% ABV with only 309 bottles available. This will retail at £50.00 on the day.

The second will be a special Springbank 21 year old Claret-matured whisky with only 264 bottles available. This will retail at £250.00 on the day and if there are any leftover after Thursday, the bottles will be taken to our Campbeltown Cadenhead’s shop where others will be able to purchase it. The price for buying this after the day will be £280.00.

The third bottling is an Open Day special Kilkerran 9yo Rum Wood, bottled at 58.3% which is being sold in 35cl bottles and costs £30.00.

Upcoming Kilkerran Releases

2015 marks the final year of the Work In Progress series for Kilkerran Single Malt as next year for the twelve anniversary, we will bottle the first official 12 year old bottling. To mark the final year of the WIP series, we have two cracking new releases of Work In Progress 7. The first is the WIP7 Sherry Wood which has been bottled at 46% ABV with 12,000 bottles available worldwide. This will retail at £35.00 per bottle. The second is the WIP7 Bourbon Wood which has been bottled at a cask strength of 54.1% ABV with a more limited 6,000 bottles available worldwide. This bottling will retail at £44.00 per bottle. As always with the WIP series, Society Members will receive their 10% discount on both bottles which will make them £31.50 and £39.60 for our members.

The bottles will be available from Thursday 21st May onwards but here is a sneak peak at the tasting notes for each to get your taste buds tingling…..

Kilkerran Work In Progress 7 Sherry Wood 

Nose:  Toasted pink marshmallows spinning around fresh rhubarb and green apples. Toffee and treacle adds to the sweetness but an earthy note keeps this whisky well balanced and not overpoweringly sweet.

Palate:  Heather honey and digestive biscuits. Creamy milk chocolate, black cherries mix with oak and wood spice. A truly complex and interesting dram.

Finish:  Dry nutty finish with some gentle peat lingering along with some further oak notes….delicious!

Kilkerran Work in Progress 7 Bourbon Wood

Nose:  Immediate hit of lush green apples mixed with marzipan and hot baked vanilla buns. A gentle smoke hugs the fruit notes throughout. Let it breathe in the glass for a quarter of an hour and you are greeted by immense madagascan vanilla pod seeds in a warm full fat milk.

Palate:  Puff of smoke mixed with tangy apple, yet elegant and mature – fantastically well rounded dram.

Finish:  Long, smooth and luxurious.

I’m going to be out of the office quite a bit over the next week getting everything organised for the festival but I will try to reply to all festival enquiries as quickly as I can. If you have an enquiry about the festival then please email my personal account (mairi@springbankwhisky.com). I will begin replying to all other enquiries and orders week commencing 25th May.

Sláinte,

Mairi

Mairi Paterson

For the Springbank Society

To join the Springbank Society please contact them at

society@springbankwhisky.com

Glengoyne & Tamdhu Whisky Tasting 26th June 2015

Price: £20.00 Date: Friday 26 June 2015 Time: 7:00PM Location: N&P Cellars

Book Tickets Online

An evening full of tasty drams and whisky chat in the cellars of Nickolls and Perks’ shop with single malts from the Glengoyne and Tamdhu distillery. The tasting will be warmly presented by Alan Wardrop, UK Ambassador. You’re guaranteed to enjoy fabulous whiskies together with the stories that go with them

For further info, email David Gardener or phone him on 01384 394518.

MAY TASTINGS & EVENTS

Feis Ille 2015: Islay Dinner

28 Queen Street – Thu 21 May

Enjoy our maritime themed, three-course dinner with three BIG peaty drams

More >

Harrogate Preview Tasting

Hotel du Vin – Thu 21 May

Enjoy our preview selection of drams from June’s Outturn along with supper

More >

Peat Lover Islay Tasting

The Vaults – Tue 26 May

Feis Ile is underway, celebrate in our spiritual home with 5 BIG peaty drams & supper

More >

New Members’ Tasting

19 Greville Street – Wed 27 May

Designed to welcome new members and share our passion for single cask whisky

More >

UK-wide Preview Tastings

Fri 29 May

Enjoy our preview selection of drams from June’s Outturn along with supper

More NEWCASTLE >

More WOKINGHAM >

More DUNFERMLINE >

More GLASGOW >

FREE ENTERTAINMENT AT THE VAULTS

Monday Night drop-in: Society Share >  Mon 18 May

Free Live Music with R.J. Feathers >  Wed 27 May

Browse All Tastings >

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information 

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

SINGLE POT STILL IRISH WHISKEYS OF MIDLETON PRESENT THEIR FIRST EVER GOOGLE HANGOUT ON AIR LIVE FROM THE GOOGLE FOUNDRY, DUBLIN

Tonight, in honour of World Whisky Day, the Masters of The Midleton Distillery will come together for their first ever special live Google Hangout ON AIR. Broadcast live from the Foundry in Dublin’s Google HQ, the show will be streamed from 6pm GMT. The event aims to raise awareness and educate whisk(e)y lovers about Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey.

The event will be hosted by International Brand Ambassador, Dave McCabe, who will discuss all things Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey with Master Distiller Brian Nation, Master Blender Billy Leighton, Master of Maturation Kevin O’Gorman, Master of Whiskey Science David Quinn and Master Cooper Ger Buckley.

The seminar will cover everything from the history of Single Pot Still Irish whiskey, the Midleton Distillery’s unique maturation and wood programme as well as a tasting of some of the most revered Single Pot Still Irish whiskeys, Redbreast 12 Year Old, Green Spot, Powers John’s Lane and Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy.

To participate and invite your followers to join the session, use this link to watch the live Google Hangout ON AIR

https://plus.google.com/u/2/+SinglePotStillIrishWhiskey/posts

#SinglePotStill

#WorldWhiskyDay

Liz and Paul of MCLEANSCOTLAND attend the 2015 Speyside whisky festival (Spirit of Speyside).

As guests of The Glenlivet, we did enjoy our wee outing. It made a nice change from taking our guests to Glenlivet (Strathisla and Aberlour) to being taken there ourselves!  We had our very own guide/hosts in Rachel MacDonald and James Collins, Ambassadors. FRIDAY 1 MAY  We took the early (and I mean early! 6am) morning train to Aberdeen and then Elgin, where we met up with Rachel and James – our driver/hosts. We four set out from Elgin to The Glenlivet Distillery to partake and enjoy the Dram Room Specials – a tasting from the Glenlivet range; a handpicked selection of some of the best limited edition whiskies, mostly single casks. The whiskies where sampled in the Malt Loft. They included 3 cask strength, a single cask expressions of The Glenlivet – Valiant, Uisge Beatha and Auchbreck bottled exclusively for the Festival. In addition we tasted the 1983 Cellar Collection, vatted from a limited selection of casks and finished for its last couple of years of maturation in French Limousin oak casks before bottled in 2003 – this is one of very few remaining bottles of this outstanding dram and we both scooped it doon, beautiful. The final cask strength dram was the exclusive 18 year old Glenlivet.  We sat down and chilled for a wee time and enjoyed some lunch.

Lunch was followed by a session with an old friend, Charlie Maclean (Patron of our whisky club don’t you know), who gave an entertaining account of the visit to Edinburgh in 1822 by King George IV and how this led to the single malt that started it all. This visit by King George IV, orchestrated by Sir Walter Scott, was the first visit to Scotland by any monarch for over 180 years (even a German one sitting on a sassunach throne). When the said King asked for Glenlivet malt whisky by name this led to a change in the law which laid the foundations of today’s Scotch whisky industry. George Smith of Glen Livet was the enterprising illicit distiller who spotted the opportunity presented by the Excise Act 1823 and went on to establish his original Glenlivet Distillery at Upper Drumin. We also enjoyed a selection of special drams, some rare and drawn again from single casks. Charlie’s interest in Scotch whisky was originally stimulated by visits as a teenager to The Glenlivet Distillery and the surrounding area. The Glenlivet was the single malt that instigated his enthusiasm. At the end, Charlie gave us a personally signed copy of his book “Whiskypedia” which we had signed for a future guest of ours (we both have his book), so two of our guests – we know who they are – will find the books in their welcome packs.  We rounded off a superb day of whisky experiences with a whisky dinner at Strathisla distillery, did we have another dram? Does a horse have four legs???

SATURDAY 2 MAY  Open day! Whisky, music, fun and entertainment in the Malt Barn at Glenlivet Distillery, an exhibition area focussing on local food and drink producers as well as artists and crafts businesses. The Sma’ Still ran both morning and afternoon (I had experienced this ages ago – Paul) when at the 3 day whisky school, there was barrel making demonstrations and a range of competitions to try, we were hopeless. Musical performances throughout the day.  OUR DAY started with an exclusive chat with Alan Winchester – The Glenlivet Master Distiller, answering questions and served more delicious drams of the single malt. This year Alan celebrate’s 40 years making whisky. Rare and special drams of The Glenlivet aged 25, 30 and 40 years old were served during this event, just in case we hadnee tried them previously. Slightly smiling and giggling in a glorious Glenlivet haze, we dropped down for some lunch, many thanks to The Glenlivet team for our lunches by the way.  Some music, aye – more drams and then a private chat with Ian Logan upstairs in the Library, Liz and myself are both Guardians. The Glenlivet Distillery, now one of the largest in Scotland. The Library at The Glenlivet Distillery is exclusively reserved for groups of up to five Guardians at a time – we were welcomed by Ian Logan, International Brand Ambassador and the ultimate Guardian of The Glenlivet to share special drams including some rare specials up to 40 years old.

We were driven back to the hotel, tired oot, drammed out (maybe), but looking for some food to soak up all those drams.  We felt as if we had each drank at least 3 bottles worth over the two days!  Ooo it’s hard being a whisky tour operator. We just put it down to “research & development”, someone has to do it, we do this for the good of all our future whisky tour guests, so we have the knowledge (and the drams) to trust us with your whisky tour. Amen to that.

MCLEANSCOTLAND – your spiritual advisors.

I do have to say, we did also enjoy meeting friends old and new from Speyside whisky world, but as we were guests of The Glenlivet, it’s unfair to add other drams, names and celebrities into this story. Paul McLean.

perthmuseum.eventbrite.co.uk

THE GLENLIVET AMBASSADOR NIGHT

Brand Ambassador Phil Huckle joins us for an evening with the eponymous Speyside single malt.

This Monday coming (18th May), Phil Huckle, brand ambassador extraordinaire, will be presenting The Glenlivet line-up of single malt whiskies, whiskies we’ve long been fans of. On the evening, Phil will be taking you through their lesser known malts. First is the latest edition to the range, the Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve. This is followed by two Glenlivet Nadurras (Gaelic for ‘Natural’), one matured in an ex-American oak barrel and the other in an ex-European oak cask, to explore the differences in cask maturation – plus you will experience The Glenlivet at natural cask-strength! Finally Phil will be opening the limited edition Glenlivet Conglass Single Cask, a whisky that is solely the produce of a single cask, making it inherently limited and unique.

The tasting will begin at 18:30 and conclude by 20:30, and will take place at Milroy’s of Soho, 3 Greek Street, W1D 4NX. Tickets can be booked via this email at £15 per person, with the ticket price redeemable against a bottle of The Glenlivet on the evening.

We hope to see you there!

RODNEY GRAHAM | BEN RIVERS | LAURE PROUVOST | CHARLES AVERY Opening preview:

Wednesday May 13th, 6:30 – 8:30 pm Darbyshire, 19-23 White Lion Street, London, N1 9PD

Darbyshire is pleased to present an exhibition featuring McLean’s Artist Malts , showcasing works by Rodney Graham, Ben Rivers, Laure Prouvost and Charles Avery

McLean’s Artist Malts is a publisher of artist editions which marry rare Scotch whisky with cutting edge contemporary art. Each project culminates in a work that plays on sight, sound, touch, smell, and of course taste.

Since 2012, M>A>M has been inviting a pair of artists each year to create a work of art around their own small-batch, single malt Scotch whisky. Every edition features a distinguished bottle of whisky that has undergone a second maturation in a sherry infused octave. Bottled at cask strength, this makes every drop unique to the respective artist and the edition. The work also includes an accompanying print produced by Poligrafa of Barcelona.

By appointment, May 14th – Aug 21st 2015. Email alexandra@darbyshire.uk.com

For more information visit: mcleansartistmalts.co.uk Sales Enquiries: contact Liam Scully at mcleansartistmalts@gmail.com

tagsmART is a new company delivering smart labelling technology built exclusively for the art world. Through the convenience of a smart phone, tagsmART enables galleries and their visitors to engaging with art like never before. McLean’s Artist Malts work will be viewable via tagsmART beaconing for the duration of his show at Darbyshire.

tagsmART’s free App is available for both iPhone and Android.  For more information: tagsmart.com       enquiries@tagsmart.com

CHARLES AVERY | LAURE PROUVOST  RODNEY GRAHAM | BEN RIVERS 

Opening preview: Wednesday May 13th, 6:30 – 8:30 pm Darbyshire, 19-23 White Lion Street, London, N1 9PD

​In collaboration with Darbyshire Framers, McLean’s Artist Malts is delighted to showcase works by

 Charles Avery, Laure Prouvost, Rodney Graham, and  Ben Rivers 

McLean’s Artist Malts is a publisher of artist editions which marry rare Scotch whisky with cutting edge contemporary art. Each project culminates in a work that plays on sight, sound, touch, smell, and of course taste. Nick Fleming, wine and spirits buyer for Harrods, said: “I see a similar discipline behind the creation of both great whisky and art, whereby craftsmen and women dedicate themselves to produce works to be discussed, evaluated and of course enjoyed. These strong, witty and relevant pieces are matched with liquid of real calibre.”  Since 2012, ​we have been inviting a pair of artists each year to create a work of art around their own small-batch, single malt Scotch whisky.  Every whisky we use has been ageing for a number of years prior to selection, it is then matched to a pair of artists, whose work demonstrate an affinity to the project. Each completed work features a distinguished bottle of whisky that has undergone a second maturation in a sherry cask, bottled at cask strength, this makes every drop unique to the respective artist and the edition. All the works ​are produced in  collaboration with  Poligrafa of Barcelona, ​who produce an accompanying printed edition.

​Founded over 50 years ago alongside Joan Miro, Poligrafa are considered one of  Europe’s most respected print houses.

McLeans Artist Malts
94 Teesdale street,
Bethnal Green,
London,
E3 3HB

Whisky School!