News at the Cutting Edge From Glencairn Crystal Studio
It’s been another busy year here at Glencairn Crystal and hard to believe it’s November already! We hope this newsletter finds you all well and that you’ve all had a healthy and successful 2021 to date.
This year not only have we been celebrating the 40th anniversary of Glencairn Crystal Studio since the company was set up back in 1981, we’ve also looked to the future and invested over £2 million into ensuring that we are making our business as sustainable and environmentally sound as we possibly can – we don’t have all the answers yet but we’re doing our best to find them.
We’ve also been in the news with some stunning Glencairn Crystal decanters that we’ve had the privilege to create for some exceptional whiskies and have further news for you about a short story competition we’ve launched as well as a very special whisky auction in December.
Crystal clear on sustainability
As a socially and environmentally responsible family business we are strongly influenced by our families’ children’s views on the environment, as they are the future of both our business and our planet.
Hot on the heels of Glasgow hosting the COP26 conference this month, we’ve undertaken an extensive expansion and remodelling of our factory and offices at our headquarters in East Kilbride, just outside Glasgow, as part of our strategy to increase our level of sustainability and to re-use and reduce rather than just recycle.
This marks an exciting moment for us as we strive to become 100% dependent on our own solar energy. The energy generated by our brand new solar storage system will be over and above the required amount for our company to run off and any excess electricity generated will be sent back to the grid and can be repurposed for other local usage.
We’ve also invested in various other key initiatives and aim to remove the use of all plastic packaging entirely over the next five ears as well as the removal of gas energy altogether over the next ten years.
An extraordinary piece of whisky history to be auctioned for charity
With contributions from some of the world’s most iconic master blenders, we will be auctioning our Glencairn Ruby Tribute Blended Scotch Whisky in a unique hand crafted ruby encrusted decanter to mark our 40th anniversary as part of The Worshipful Company of Distillers’ One-of-One Charity Auction, in partnership with Sotheby’s.
This very special whisky was originally presented to Glencairn Founder and CEO Raymond Davidson at Fettercairn Distillery in December 2004, to celebrate the production of Glencairn’s one millionth Glencairn Glass in a surprise gathering organised by Whyte and Mackay’s Richard ‘The Nose’ Paterson. A special assemblage of malt grain aged whiskies – all at least 18 years old – were blended together and filled into a miniature oak cask and gifted to Raymond.
The auction takes place on 4th December at Barnbougle Castle on the Dalmeny Estate, near Edinburgh and the money raised will go to The Distillers’ Charity Youth Action Fund, helping to improve life chances of Scotland’s young people.
We’re hoping that the auction will capture the imagination of someone who would like to own a piece of whisky history and will help us to raise money for this important charity. Please visit www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/the-distillers-one-of-one-2 for further details and spread the word!
The Glencairn Glass launches its first ever crime short story competition
For the past two years, the world’s favourite whisky glass – our very own Glencairn Glass – has featured as headline sponsor of the prestigious McIlvanney and Bloody Scotland Debut crime-writing prizes, celebrating the finest in Scottish crime writing talent.
We’re very excited to announce that we’ve launched our very own crime short story competition, in partnership with Scottish Field Magazine. We’re inviting both experienced and novice authors alike to take a stab (excuse the pun!) at entering and to build their stories around the theme: ‘A Crystal-Clear Crime’ in no more than 2000 words. The first prize winner will receive £1000, whilst the two runners up will each receive £250. All three winners will also receive a set of six bespoke engraved Glencairn Glasses and the overall winning entry will be published by Scottish Field in spring 2022 as well as on The Glencairn Glass website.
For further details and to submit short story entries please visit: www.whiskyglass.com/crime-short-story-competition. The closing date is midnight on the Friday 31st December 2021.
Glencairn Crystal in the news
We’ve been in the drinks and packaging media lately with our latest decanter releases
In September came perhaps our most challenging decanter created to date – a contemporary cube shaped decanter for the oldest single malt Scotch ever bottled – Generations 80 Years Old from Glenlivet Distillery (Gordon & MacPhail’s).
Designed to appear as hewn from a single solid block of crystal, only 250 decanters were created and each decanter’s curving core needed to be individually hand-blown.
September also saw the launch of the 60 Years Old single malt scotch by Speyside distillery Glen Grant to celebrate master distiller Dennis Malcolm’s six decades in whisky.
We created each of the 360 decanters from hand-blown crystal glass and the shape was inspired by Glen Grant’s tall, slender pot stills. Each one is beautifully engraved and infilled with a champagne gold finish.
We had the honour of creating the exquisite decanters and lunawood packaging for the exceptionally rare Karuizawa 1981 single cask whisky ‘The Legend of Asama’ launched at the end of summer. Each rare set (only 30 exist) includes two bottles of the precious Japanese single malt whisky, one from each of two remaining casks (no. 4059 and 6183). For details about ‘The Legend of Asama’ Karuizawa 1981 collection, please visit: www.legendofasama.com
