Curtain rises on world’s most exclusive whisky

Whisky specialist Gordon & MacPhail raised the curtain today (Wednesday 2 September 2015) at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, on what it believes to be the world’s most exclusive single malt Scotch whisky.

Mortlach 75 Years Old by Gordon & MacPhail is the latest offering in the Generations range from the family-owned Scotch whisky firm. It was unveiled by members of the Urquhart family, together with whisky writer and connoisseur – and occasional film star – Charles MacLean.  He was joined by renowned Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith.

On 17^th November 1939, John Urquhart, the first generation of the family to be involved in Gordon & MacPhail, instructed the first-fill Sherry cask to be filled with new-make spirit from Speyside’s Mortlach Distillery. Seventy-five years later, the cask was emptied and the precious amber liquid was carefully transferred into beautiful crystal decanters.

With notes of dried apricots and pomegranate, followed by hints of spice and creamy vanilla, the latest release to the luxury Generations range has a smooth and lingering smoky finish which remains long after the dram has been savoured.

Founded in 1895, Gordon & MacPhail is known the world over as the custodian of some of the oldest and rarest single malts. The fourth generation of the Urquhart family involved in the business uphold the same traditions and dedication to whisky which embedded in the company’s philosophy since it was first established.

Stephen Rankin, great grandson of John Urquhart introduced the special whisky saying: “We’ve been anticipating this moment for a long time.  Having been nurtured and cared for by four generations of our family it gives us great pleasure to release this unique and incredibly rare single malt.

“Our family has been immersed in the whisky industry for more than one hundred years and we’ve built up an expertise and knowledge, handed down from generation to generation.”

Members of the third and fourth generation of the Urquhart family poured the single malt for the assembled guests before Charles MacLean invited everyone to join him in tasting the whisky, describing it as “Smooth and highly sophisticated – elegant as a grande dame…the Ingrid Bergman of malts!

“Gordon & MacPhail is one of the few, if not the only company in the world who could have produced this rarest of whiskies. Generations of the Urquhart family have taken a long term view to maturing Scotch whisky, guided by a simple family saying – The future is shaped by what we do today. Today reveals what we did in the past. This philosophy has enabled the current generation to unveil this exquisite whisky,” he added.

Generations Mortlach 75 Years Old by Gordon & MacPhail is presented in the iconic teardrop-shaped Generations decanter. Each decanter is uniquely numbered and skilfully handcrafted with 75 multi-level “cuts”; each cut representing a year of the whisky’s maturation. The decanter sits on a white presentation plinth with two specially designed crystal glasses.

The decanter is packaged in a luxury Aniline leather travel bag and accompanied by a specially commissioned book, Seven Nights with Mortlach. Acclaimed whisky writer, Charles Maclean and international bestselling author, Alexander McCall Smith have joined forces to tell tales of Scotland, whisky and the people behind this special malt, accompanied by illustrations from up and coming Scottish artists.

Mortlach 75 Years Old by Gordon & MacPhail was matured in a first-fill Sherry butt cask.   Only 100 decanters, bottled at cask strength (44.4% ABV), have been released for worldwide sale.

The RRP of Generations Mortlach 75 Years Old by Gordon & MacPhail is £20,000, although prices may differ in international markets due to local taxes and duty.

For more information visit www.gordonandmacphail.com/generations

Notes 

About Gordon & MacPhail

Gordon & MacPhail is an independent, family-owned spirit and wine merchant who have been based in Elgin, Moray, since 1895. Four generations of the Urquhart family have continued the tradition of selecting, maturing and bottling Single Malt Scotch whiskies.

Since its foundation, Gordon & MacPhail’s policy has been to send casks to distilleries throughout Scotland, fill them with ‘new make’ spirit and mature them either at the distillery of origin or in the firm’s own bonded warehouses in Elgin.

Now the world’s leading malt whisky specialists, Gordon & MacPhail exports to more than 50 countries. It offers more than 300 expressions of own-bottled single malts. In 2009 and again in 2013, Gordon & MacPhail was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, reflecting their successful growth in exports over a ten year period.

The company’s guiding philosophy states: “The future is shaped by what we do today. Today reveals what we did in the past.”

Tasting Notes for 75 Years Old Mortlach single malt Scotch whisky

Written by: Charles MacLean

Appearance: Mid-amber, with rubious lights.

Aroma (Nat. Str.): Fresh and clean; very slight nose prickle: still lively. A highly perfumed, floral top note – lily of the valley, barber’s shop, scented hand cream, soft leather lady’s dress handbag – with a fruity complex in the middle (dried figs, pomegranate, ripe pear. Peach juice); creamy vanilla (Crème Anglaise), even vanilla fudge, and a faint trace of coffee in the background.

Aroma (@30% Vol): Water reduces the floral notes with scented oil (bath oil? Teak oil?), increases the soft leather note and dries out the aroma somewhat (warm sanded hardwood).

Taste (Nat. Str.): Sweet to start, but not as sweet as expected; considerable fresh acidity and slightly mouth drying. Bitter almonds. A most unusual trace of hemp ropes and very faded creosote, lending a slight smokiness. A medium-length finish, leaving an attractive aftertaste of sandalwood.

Taste (@30% Vol): Lightly sweet; slightly oily texture; mouth drying; then slightly bitter finish. Some spice across the tongue. Warming, even at this lower strength.

Comment: A most unusual taste – never before encountered. Smooth and highly sophisticated – elegant as a grande dame – the Ingrid Bergman of malts!

About the Packaging

Generations Mortlach 75 Years Old by Gordon & MacPhail is beautifully presented in the iconic teardrop-shaped Generations decanter. Each of the 100 decanters released worldwide is uniquely numbered and skilfully handcrafted with 75 multi-level “cuts”; each cut representing a year of the whisky’s maturation.

The decanter nestles on an elegant white presentation plinth, delicately sculpted with ripples to resemble the movement of the water used to create this whisky in 1939.  Two crystal glasses, uniquely designed for the enjoyment of this exclusive Single Malt, sit either side of the decanter.

Accompanying the presentation is a book written by acclaimed whisky writer, Charles Maclean and international bestselling author, Alexander McCall Smith.  In “Seven Nights with Mortlach” the authors relate tales of Scotland, Scotch Whisky and the people behind the Single Malt.   Seven beautiful poems, written by McCall Smith, accompany the narrative.  The poems are accompanied by illustrations commissioned for the book by emerging Scottish based artists.

Completing the presentation is a luxury travel holdall.  Handmade using the finest Aniline leather, the holdall is finished with exquisite detailing.

New Season Malts – September

The first releases of the new season are about to start arriving this week. We start with the New Longrow Red 12 matured in Pinot Noir wine cask 52.9% Vol 9000 bottles and the new Springbank 12 year old 53.8% Vol 9000 bottles.

A NOTE FROM US ON REVIEWS AND COLLECTOR ITEMS

Before I go into more detail about the new products, I want to touch on the reviews and points given for some products that can cause a little mayhem from time to time.

As you know a number of web sites offer reviews on single malt’s, some that we bottle along with many more from other bottlers or companies big and small. After the Littlemill 24 review, things got a little crazy as people rushed to find a bottle or 3 of the now rare bottling we had stock of since June.

I understand that some of you might not be aware of the latest releases until the on-line review has been released and as a result you miss the chance of savoring the latest malt to get the highest score. While this can be disappointing one has to remember that we have a finite number of bottles available at any one time due to the fact we mainly bottle from single casks or in the case of the Small batch black label 2 casks can be married together to create some rather legendary drams.

We will try to give you our advice in the newsletter as to what is good but that like any on-line review is subject to personal opinion or as i am often doing adding customer comments to the web shop especially if that vintage has been tried and enjoyed in the tasting room.

So my advice is read the newsletters check the web shop where you will find the tasting notes alone with any comments about the product before the actual tasting note itself, the comments are feedback not our personal opinions.

Now back to the whiskies…

Due to high demand and the Bank holiday weekend we will ship all web orders on Tuesday to avoid them being lost in a backlog at the delivery company.

Longrow Red 12 years in a Pinot Noir caskABV 52.9% Vol 9000 bottles in the world

We are aware that this new Longrow is going to sell very fast just as it did last year. We sadly have a limit of 1 bottle per customer due to the high demand and limited availability. If we get anymore we will naturally release it as and when it comes in just as we have done with several vintages in the past.

Allocations are not in my control, what I get is all done back in Scotland by head office who need to keep not only our web shop and retail stores stocked they also need to supply to customers around the world so in the case of Longrow Red 9000 bottles will not last that long.

Springbank 12 cask strength 53.8% Vol 9000 Bottles in the world

This is truly limited availability for August / September 2015, so limited it might not make it onto the web shop! However don’t worry too much if you miss this one as another batch is due in January 2016 that should give us a few more cases!

If you missed the archive bottles that hit the web shop across August (We only had 1 bottle of some of the products so it was blink you will miss it) We have a few more to add as soon as we have compiled the full list.

WHAT’S NEXT?

At the moment we are finalising the next small batch release, around 12-13 new products should be on the next newsletter with age ranges from 14 years to 38 years, one of them is a trademark blended malt of 26 years that I know will be gone very quickly, more on that and why we are advising that it’s a trademark product in the next newsletter.

We also have a rather special Speyside vintage 26 years old in a sherry cask again, it’s rather stunning but I must confess I have a special place in my whisky collection for any malts from the distillery.

Two Islay malts are also in the next batch not Ardbeg so no panic just exceptional tastes for Islay lovers.

TUBE STRIKE AND TASTINGS

As some of you who live in London know we have had several months of Tube Strikes taking place with the knock on effect for customers wishing to attend the Tasting Room events we run daily.

 It can take several weeks to book a Tuesday-Thursday or Friday evening if not months starting in September I should guess given the rate of enquiries we are getting each day.

Because so many have cancelled due to the now moronic strikes we will be busier than usual for some of the Tuesdays and Thursdays as people try to re-book, with this in mind we are looking at holding a few on Wednesday evenings assuming the strikes are close to over (If TFL/ Unions and the Mayor can sit down and talk that is rather than act like brats)

As and when the situation clears up we will let you know via the newsletter or on the web site.

SHIPPING

Just a short reminder that our London store does not ship to the EU or the rest of the world just yet due to so many changes in the law and to be honest price hikes that make it dreadfully expensive to do so, we know London is expensive but some of the prices we get quoted are truly shocking, no matter how much we would try to explain this during the ordering process we would have so many complaints and cancelled orders it’s currently not economical to offer this service.

Well that’s it for this short newsletter I will be sending another out shortly with the full details of new products.

All the best

Stephen at Cadenhead’s London

Balblair 21 Year Gordon & MacPhail First Fill Sherry Cask Strength Single Barrel Single Malt Scotch 750ml

( $229.99) Only 5 cases for California and we got them all! This is massively sherried Balblair at the peak of maturity. A true Sherry Bomb if you’re in the market for one. Dark like coffee, rich like molasses. It’s a dream for any lover of the Sherried style, but also a great introduction to the unusual Balblair Distillery.

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

ROYAL BRACKLA® SINGLE MALT: THE FIRST WHISKY FIT FOR A KING

Glasgow, Scotland, 25^th August 2015 – John Dewar & Sons Ltd. has unveiled a new range of proprietary bottlings from Royal Brackla distillery, one of Scotland’s oldest and most venerable distilleries.

The new expressions of this regal single malt, ROYAL BRACKLA® 12 year-old, ROYAL BRACKLA® 16 year-old and ROYAL BRACKLA® 21 year-old will be available initially in 10 markets from September 2015; a regal opportunity to savour whisky fit for a King.

Standing on the fertile farmland of the Cawdor Estate, Royal Brackla Distillery was established in 1812 by the fiery Captain William Fraser who returned to the family farm after military service and took advantage of the fine barley it grew. Within 25 years his distillery’s reputation for spirit of sterling taste received its crowning moment when King William IV bestowed ‘Royal’ status to Brackla, in 1835. It thus became the first ever Scotch to garner a royal warrant, a revelation that led to its nickname: ‘The King’s Own Whisky’.

Traditional production techniques help to protect a distilling heritage that spans more than two centuries and preserves the unparalleled quality of a rather special spirit. To allow for the development of intriguing complexity and fruitiness, extra time is taken at the fermentation stage, which acts for up to 80 hours; far longer than most Scottish distilleries.

The notably tall stills run at an unusually slow pace. Their height allows plenty of reflux, with the leisurely nature of the operation increasing the contact that the spirit shares with copper, thus filtering out unwanted sulphury notes. Instead, delicate and lightly perfumed notes of grass and green foliage develop, alongside inviting fruity aromas. Crucially, the whisky is finished in premium first-fill sherry casks, enriching it with notes of muscovado sweetness and dates, alongside opulent walnuts.

Stephen Marshall, Bacardi’s Global Marketing Manager – Single Malts says: “This is the one that was described as ‘The Drink Divine’ by the Royal household in the 1830s, that’s no small claim, so we had to take our time and the entire team have done an amazing job that really does justice to Royal Brackla’s incredible heritage. There’s only one whisky in the world that can be the first Royal whisky, I feel privileged to have worked on this”.

The new portfolio consists of three age statements, each bottled at 46% ABV: Royal Brackla 12 Years Old, Royal Brackla 16 Years Old and Royal Brackla 21 Years Old. Each expression has been launched in 10 initial markets around the world including Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States and Global Travel Retail.

http://www.lastgreatmalts.com/

Tasting Notes

Royal Brackla 12 Years Old, 40% ABV

Salute a superior Scotch: almonds, vine fruits, opulent spices; steeped in sherried richness. Ennobled nectar, fit for a king.

Royal Brackla 16 Years Old, 40% ABV

A royal flush of flavour: vanilla, soft caramel, ripe apricots; replete with sherry tones. Hold court with a monarch of the glens.

Royal Brackla 21 Years Old, 40% ABV

All hail a high-born spirit: summer berries, dark chocolate, star anise; infused with sherry sweetness. A member of malt aristocracy. 

About ROYAL BRACKLA Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Founded in 1812 by Captain William Fraser, ROYAL BRACKLA’s regal malt has a remarkable history. The distillery itself is over two centuries old and its malt’s nickname of ‘The King’s Own Whisky’ stems from its distinction as the first single malt to be granted a royal warrant.

High-grade barley, flawless water from the Cawdor Burn and slow distillation produce a truly refined spirit, before it’s matured in the finest first-fill oloroso sherry casks. This rich, robust whisky offers muscovado sweetness, dates and walnuts within its opulent, sherried depths.

The brand new portfolio comprises of three ROYAL BRACKLA single malts: the 12 Years Old, 16 Years Old and 21 Years Old.

The single malt brand of ROYAL BRACKLA is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.

http://www.royalbrackla.com/

About John Dewar & Sons Ltd.John Dewar & Sons Ltd. employs 300 people at seven locations throughout Scotland. The Company currently operates whisky distilleries in Aberfeldy, Macduff, Aultmore, Craigellachie and Nairn with ageing, blending, bottling and packaging facilities in Glasgow and additional maturation facilities in Poniel in Central Scotland.

http://www.lastgreatmalts.com/

For more information on the new single malt expressions, the five distilleries, tasting notes, crafting, and heritage, please visit http://www.lastgreatmalts.com/

ENJOY THE LAST GREAT MALTS RESPONSIBLY. 

ROYAL BRACKLA & THE LAST GREAT MALTS DEVICE ARE TRADEMARKS

Imperial 19 Year Old

Bottled July 2015 by Signatory Vintage, distilled at the lost Imperial Distillery September 1995.

Buy – $66.37

Imperial 19 Year Old 1995 vintage Speyside single malt Scotch whiskey. Hogshead casks #50204 & #50205 of the lost Scottish distillery. Bottled July 2015 by Signatory Vintage for the Un-Chilfiltered Collection.

Springbank Society Newsletter

August 2015

Greetings Society Members,

I hope you are all enjoying a nice Summer and have been experiencing some warm weather wherever you are! Unfortunately the Campbeltown weather hasn’t been too kind to us this year but I suppose it just makes us even more thankful for the odd sunny day that we’re blessed with! The Summer seems to have flown by, I can’t believe that we will be in September soon so I thought it was best to drop by with the latest news for you all!

Information for New Society Members

We have welcomed a large number of new members to the Springbank Society over the past few months so a big hello to all of you and welcome aboard!

Just a quick reminder of the process – you will receive updates from the Society whenever there is a new general release from the distillery, whenever there is a new Society release or just when there is some important news to share with you. You will receive information on new bottlings via email but other general news will tend to be added to the Society Blog on the Springbank Distillers website, which you should have been informed about when you joined. Regrettably, I haven’t been able to update this as much as I would like to since the website went live, as things have just been so busy over the past few months, but I will hopefully get more updates on there soon.

If you would like to order bottles after a new release, or at any time throughout the year, you can email me at society@springbankwhisky.com or call on +44 (0) 1586 55 2009. Unfortunately we are currently unable to ship bottles to America and Canada due to strict import laws but can ship to all other counties worldwide. For the Society releases, we do have a source in Canada who can import them for members so you can still order the exclusive Society bottlings when they are released. I will explain this in more detail when the next bottling is available.

If you would like the shipping prices for a particular country sent over to you then just ask and I will be more than happy to provide them for you. Also, if you have any general questions at any time then please do not hesitate to get in touch and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. At busy times, this can take longer than I would like but I do try my hardest to reply as quickly as I can.

News from the Distillery & Sales Team

We’ve welcomed a record breaking number of visitors to the distillery this Summer, with September already looking to be the busiest month of all with lots of large group bookings in the diary. It’s always fantastic to see so many people making the long journey to Campbeltown to visit us and we really do appreciate each and every visitor. We know Campbeltown is not the easiest place in the world to get to but hope that it is worth it for our visitors when they get here and that they leave happy! There have been plenty of tour guides on hand to show the visitors round with Jim, Martin, Cameron, Donald, Mhairi and Lea all working very hard and gaining more experience and confidence each day.

Gavin and his team at the distillery are currently malting on both malt floors which is always one of my favourite sights to see at the distillery. The team will malt until the end of October when they will move all the malted barley up to Glengyle to distill until mid- December. The spirit from Glengyle is maturing beautifully at the moment and we are all getting increasingly excited about the launch of the 12 year old next year. Apparently there is a sample bottle of the upcoming 12 year old doing the rounds in the office so I will need to try and get my hands on that soon!

The Sales Team have their diaries fully booked for the next few months with lots of trips scheduled. Between them, Ranald, Melanie, David and Grant will visit Germany, Belgium, Japan, France, Poland, Switzerland, North America, Norway, Sweden and Italy as well as a few festivals within the UK. I will be attending the Glasgow Whisky Festival with Grant in November so I’m already looking forward to that and will hopefully see some of you Society Members there!

Springbank Whisky School Dates 2016

Some of you have possibly already noticed the Springbank Whisky School dates for 2016 on the Society Blog but here is some information for those who haven’t:

The dates for the Springbank Whisky School 2016 have now been announced and spaces are filling up quickly already, with people who had registered their interest earlier in the year. For those of you who don’t know about the Whisky School, during the Summer months we offer whisky enthusiasts the opportunity to come and work in the distillery. Whisky School students get to experience traditional distilling methods first hand at Springbank where they will work for a period of 5 days under our expert supervision. During the week, students will gain knowledge and experience in all stages of the whisky making process including malting, mashing, distilling and bottling as well as gaining some ‘tasting’ experience along the way!

The dates for next year are:

Term 1: Week commencing Monday 16th May 2016 – FULLY BOOKED

Term 2: Week commencing Monday 23rd May 2016 – FULLY BOOKED

Term 3: Week commencing Monday 30th May 2016 – SPACES AVAILABLE

Term 4: Week commencing Monday 6th June 2016 – FULLY BOOKED

Term 5: Week commencing Monday 13th June 2016 – SPACES AVAILABLE

Term 6: Week commencing Monday 20th June 2016 – SPACES AVAILABLE

Term 7: Week commencing Monday 27th June 2016 – SPACES AVAILABLE

Term 8: Week commencing Monday 4th July 2016 – SPACES AVAILABLE

If you would like further information on prices, availability and what exactly is involved, please email Janet at whiskyschool@springbankwhisky.com.

Campbeltown Malts Festival 2016

Continuing on from the success of the 2014 & 2015 Campbeltown Malts Festivals, Springbank, Glengyle, Glen Scotia and Cadenhead’s will team up again next year to host the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2016. The festival will take place from Wednesday 18th-Friday 20th May 2016 and I can’t wait to start the planning! As always, Thursday (19th May) will be dedicated to Springbank Open Day with Glengyle, Glen Scotia and Cadenhead related events taking place on the Wednesday (18th) and Friday (20th).

There was a fantastic turn out for the 2015 festival and it was great to see so many Society Members coming all the way to Campbeltown to visit us! A review of this years festival was posted on the Society Blog at the beginning of July so for those who couldn’t make it over, head to the blog to read all about the events which took place. More information on the various 2016 events will be released at the beginning of next year so I will email you as soon as any plans are confirmed.

Upcoming Releases & Current Products

August has been an extremely busy month for our Bottling Hall staff who have been working very hard, making sure we have plenty stock of all our core products. Included in the recent bottling programme is our new version of the ever popular Springbank 12 year old Cask Strength. This has been matured in a combination of 70% Sherry casks and 30% Bourbon casks, been bottled at 53.8% and is very limited with only 9,000 bottles for worldwide distribution. The price for the Springbank 12 year old Cask Strength is £47.00 and as it is part of our core range, members receive their 10% discount on it, working out at £42.30 for Society Members. The UK allocation of this bottling is extremely limited and our shop will only receive a small number of bottles so it will be strictly limited to one per person and will likely sell out within a day or two. The tasting notes for the August 2015 release are:

Nose: There’s a saltiness similar to Campbeltown Loch fishing creels, a typical Springbank maritime style. Spicy notes are very dominant: cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks and some ground black pepper.

Palate: Lip licking – thickly buttered gingerbread, sticky toffee pudding and crème brûlée. Cream and butter really coat the mouth in classic Campbeltown style.

Finish: Dry finish ending with barbecue smoke and chicory sauce.

Also recently bottled is the 2015 version of Longrow Red. This is the 4th in the Longrow Red series which has produced bottlings matured in Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Port casks so far. The new edition has been matured in Pinot Noir casks and is 12 years old. It has been bottled at cask strength of 52.9% and again, there are only 9,000 bottles available for worldwide distribution. The price for this is £58.00 and as a Society Member, you will get your 10% member discount, meaning it will cost you £52.20. Again, please note this bottling will be limited to one bottle per person as it is just so limited. The tasting notes for the new Longrow Red are:

Nose: There’s a cornucopia of fruity aromas: marmalade, strawberry preserve, fruit coulis and orange sherbet. Not forgetting the tobacco smoke which is associated with Longrow whiskies.

Palate: The fruit theme continues with raspberry jam, and strawberry jam with cream sponge. The whisky has a sweet side too, rich toffee, honeycomb and candy floss.

Finish: Very soft, this Longrow whisky doesn’t disappoint with campfire smoke and charred embers dominating the finish.

Both new releases will be hitting shops around the UK this week including our Cadenhead shops in Campbeltown, Edinburgh and London. They will also be available in various other countries very soon, including our Cadenhead shops in Cologne, Berlin, Salzburg, Odense and Baden. Both bottlings are likely to sell out from our Campbeltown shop very quickly so if you would like to order a bottle then please let me know ASAP and I will try my best to get one for you. I am going to be on annual leave from Tuesday 1st September until Wednesday 16th September so if you are placing an order from Tuesday 1st September, please call the Whisky Shop directly on +44 (0) 1586 55 1710 (option 1).

As mentioned, we have recently stocked up on all core products so here’s a reminder of what we have, including the up to date prices of each:

– Hazelburn 10yo:” £38.00 (-10% Society discount) = £34.20

– Hazelburn 12yo:” £50.00 (-10% Society discount) = £45.00

– Springbank 10yo:” £38.00 (-10% Society discount) = £34.20

– Springbank 12yo:” £47.00 (-10% Society discount) = £42.30

– Springbank 15yo:” £53.50 (-10% Society discount) = £48.15

– Springbank 18yo:” £84.50 (-10% Society discount) = £76.05

– Springbank 21yo:” £180.00 (-£10.00 for Society Members) = £170.00

– Longrow Peated:” £38.00 (-10% Society discount) = £34.20

– Longrow Red:” £58.00 (-10% Society discount) = £52.20

– Longrow 18yo:” £84.50 (-10% Society discount) = £76.05

Next Society Bottle

As previously mentioned, the next Society bottling is due to be released at the end of September. Unfortunately I am unable to provide any other information on it at the moment but I will send details as soon as I can so thank you for you patience!

Support the continuation of the Campbeltown Ferry Crossing

Many of you will already know that as well as my various Springbank related tasks, part of my job is also to administrate and organise events for Explore Campbeltown. For those who don’t know about Explore Campbeltown, it is a marketing initiative founded in 2013 by Springbank Distillery, the Ardshiel Hotel and Machrihanish Holiday Park. Since February 2013, we have been working together with the local businesses of South Kintyre to help promote the area, showcasing what wonderful goods and services the  Kintyre peninsula has to offer and to encourage more people to visit/spend their holidays here. As well as creating a website to showcase our local businesses, we have hosted many successful events including two Christmas Markets in the Malt Barns at Springbank, a Fashion Show and a Wedding Fayre with many more lined up for the future.

At the moment, we are working closely with the Campbeltown Ferry Sub-Group to campaign for the current 3 year trial summer ferry service from Ardrossan-Campbeltown to be made permanent. The summer service, which started in May 2013, is in the final year of its 3 year trial and it’s important that the ferry continues beyond the current trial period to provide a vital link between the central belt and Kintyre. The first CalMac ferry from Ardrossan arrived in Campbeltown on Thursday 23rd May 2013 and the final ferry, this year, is scheduled for Sunday 27th September 2015.

We are currently working with local businesses to gather information which will help us compile statistics for us to argue our case. We are very keen to get the community and visitors involved in supporting the continuation so we have created a Facebook page titled ‘Keep the Campbeltown Ferry Crossing’. It would be great if those of you on Facebook could ‘like’ and ‘share’ the page to help spread the word. We are encouraging ferry users to interact on the Facebook page by sharing their stories, opinions and photographs and if we get a good, positive response to this, it will hopefully help in our bid to keep the ferry in service beyond the current 3 year trial period.

The service has been an extremely positive addition to Kintyre and many of our visitors travel to Campbeltown using the ferry so we are desperate to make sure we do all we can to try and make the crossing a permanent service. We are in the process of designing a short questionnaire on Survey Monkey which will ask a few questions about the service, targeting ferry users out-with the local community. When this goes live, it would be great if any of you who have used the service could help us out by answering the few questions. The link to the survey will be posted on the Ferry Facebook page as well as the Springbank and Explore Campbeltown Facebook pages as soon as it goes live so it would be really great if you could fill out the survey.

I think that is all the news I have for you at the moment but I will be back in touch at the end of September to give you all the details about the next Society release.

Sláinte,

Mairi

For the Springbank Society

To join the Springbank Society please contact Janet at society@springbankwhisky.com

Save Lars Whisky – The Final Edition

August 2015

At last, the third and final limited fan edition of the Save Lars Whisky Trilogy has arrived!

The Save the Lars Homestead project, in which the iconic Star Wars movie location was restored by fans from around the world, was a great success. To celebrate, two of the project’s crew – Mark Dermul and Imanuel ‘Manny’ Dijk, both whisky aficionados – released 100 bottles of a wonderful Bruichladdich 20 Year Old 1990.

After searching hard and long Mark & Manny found a worthy successor and were proud to announce the Save Lars Whisky – Second Fan Edition: a fantastic Auchentoshan 24 Year Old 1989, again limited to 100 bottles. The first and second edition are now highly sought after bottles.

And now, after more than a year of searching for an exceptional cask to conclude the bespoke Save Lars Whisky Trilogy, they stumbled upon a sherry cask matured Speyside malt: Balmenach 14 Year Old 2001, bottled at a cask strength of 50,2% ABV!

Click here to find out more about this Final Fan Edition! Yes, you read that right. This is the final edition. So do not miss out on this one! It is your last chance to own one of these bespoke bottles of fine single malt in commemoration of a fantastic project.

Expected bottling date: September 2015. Expected delivery date: October/November 2015.

MAY THE MALT BE WITH YOU.

Tasting Notes

Nose: fairly sweet nose on banana and pineapple, but it is dominated by sweet malt. Some silver polish that I quite like, as if it was poured by R2-D2 on Jabba’s Sail Barge. Some pine and grain biscuits. The fruit evolves towards the candied variety. Some vanilla and gooseberries. Nice nose.

Palate: the arrival is powerful and peppery. Immediately sweet on white fruit, pineapple and some banana (although less than on the nose), but now some citrus fruit kicks in. Think grapefruit and lime. Light and fresh with a good body. This is quite enjoyable.

Finish: the finish may be short, but it is spicy with some pepper at the death.

Lovely and accessible whisky that would do well in Chalmun’s Cantina in Mos Eisley and hence a wonderful conclusion of the bespoke whisky trilogy in commemoration of the Save Lars project.

SEPTEMBER PREVIEWS: SMASH HITS

Inside: Get next month’s essential Whisky Smash now! Concerto zenzero reveals 5 easy tricks to spice up your life in a day. The truth about 4 August bottlings even smart people thought were gone forever. This edition is Bursting with interest and imaginings so dive in for all the latest gossip…

Oily & coastal

4.210 Whisky Smash. Trimming your privet hedge, planning your next DIY project or examining an old upturned boat whilst you are drinking a sweet peat smoked infused ‘Whisky Mash’…16 years old.  First fill ex-bourbon barrel £61.20

Old & dignified

37.65 Bursting with interest and imaginings. The nose evokes perfume, leather, toffee, vanilla, blossom honey, sandalwood, sherry-soaked sultanas and a French polisher’s after-shave. The palate is awash with perfumed, exotic fruits…29 years old  Refill ex-bourbon hogshead  £124.60

Spicy & dry

48.61 Concerto zenzero. The nose is a study in ginger (ginger biscuits, iced gingerbread) with cinder toffee, marshmallows and stewed apple and rhubarb. Ginger, cinnamon and chilli give the palate tongue-nipping heat…13 years old  First fill ex-bourbon barrel  £44.70

Expect your next email on Friday 4 September

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*We release a small number of bottles as a preview- it’s one of the perks of being an email subscriber! But don’t worry if you don’t get one tonight; the majority of bottles are released on First Friday.

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

United States – Kentucky

Old Forester K&L Exclusive Single Barrel Straight Kentucky Bourbon Whisky 750ml $34.99 Buy

Scotland

Glengoyne 25 Year Old Single Malt Whisky 750ml  $299.99 Buy

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

The most expensive bottle of Tasmanian single malt whisky 

At $10,000 Tasmania’s leading whisky distillery, Sullivans Cove, has created the most expensive bottle of Tasmanian whisky to date. Made from extremely rare French oak single malt from the distillery’s top awarded casks including French Oak HH0525 – the World’s Best Single Malt Whisky, French Oak HH0390 – the Best Australian Single Malt 2015 and French Oak HH0509 – 96.5/100 Jim Murray’s Whiksy Bible 2013, the Sullivans Cove Manifesto gives connoisseurs the opportunity to own a piece of whisky history.

Limited to only two bottles, the Sullivans Cove Manifesto decanters were hand made by Tasmanian glass sculptors Anne Clifton and Peter Bowles and each 6kg decanter comes with its own specially blown glass “spirit thief”, a hand moulded “travel” stopper made from rare Tasmanian Huon pine and Portuguese cork and a matching glass stopper for everyday use. The decanters are housed in hand made Huon pine cases lined with doeskin.

Speaking from the distillery in Cambridge, malt master Bert Cason said, “Sullivans Cove and Tasmanian whisky in general have come a very long way and we wanted to create something really special that captures this. Using whisky from our top awarded casks plus some of our finest unreleased casks, we’ve created a malt that stands head and shoulders above the rest and promises the connoisseur the treat of a lifetime, not to mention a slice of whisky history. “

One decanter is available from the distillery cellar door or online at www.sullivanscovewhisky.com, while the other is available from Dan Murphy’s Double Bay.