MERRY CHRISTMAS!
From the whole Wemyss Malts family, we’d like to wish you a Merry Christmas. This festive period has been like no other, and we’re incredibly thankful for all of your support throughout 2020. May you have a wonderful Christmas Day and we hope to see you in the New Year!
2020 has been a very unusual for everyone, and here at the distillery many things changed. But we wanted to reassure you that the whisky making continued!
The year started normally with Brian filling cask 1 back in January.
We followed government advice and shut down production for a few weeks in spring, but come June, we had a delivery of fresh sherry casks ready to fill post lockdown.
To make up for lost time, we kept production going during the summer, and we even put George Grant to work filling some casks on his birthday back in August – the first time in his 44 years that we have been producing on that date.
We rounded the year off yesterday, with John Grant filling the last cask of the year. So don’t worry, come 2030 or 2035, there will still be plenty of Glenfarclas from 2020 for you to drink!
We usually share tales of tastings an events featuring Glenfarclas from all over the world… Obviously, that couldn’t happen this year. So like everyone else, we had to adapt – and so George is now the King of the Zoom tasting! On Tuesday evening, he carried out his 60th.
They have been enjoyed by clients all over the world, from New Zealand to Canada, but the largest number have been for here in the UK. He has also become a professional at making up the tasting kits to allow everyone in the tasting to enjoy the same whiskies.
Every year, we like to have a Christmas Jumper day here at Glenfarclas and this, at least, survived this year even if we did have to keep our distance! The team collected for our local food bank, Moray Food Plus, who were delighted with our donation. They have been doing a brilliant job throughout 2020 making sure families were looked after and we were delighted to play our part.
Visitor Centre
The Visitor Centre remains closed until further notice. We will be opening in 2021 but the date is still to be confirmed. We will announce it via this newsletter and our Social Media channels.
Wishing all our readers a very happy festive season, wherever and however you are celebrating!
Happy Holidays From Virginia Distillery Co. 🥃
Hello friends, family, and whisky lovers,
Whew. 2020 has been quite the year. In the blink of an eye, December is here and the holidays are upon us. Shared below are some highlights that stand out in a year of uncertainty:
Through all the ups and downs that 2020 sent our way, we’re thankful to have you come along for the ride as we continue to bring American Single Malt whisky into the spotlight. We’re looking ahead to 2021 with excitement and cannot wait to show you what the new year will bring.
If you’re looking for that last minute gift, a bottle of Courage & Conviction under the tree might just do the trick. Our whiskies are proudly on the shelves of retailers in 23 states. Use our store locator on our website to find a retailer near you:
Alternatively, get the perfect stocking stuffer for your friend or loved one in the form of a gift card through our online store here. Gift cards on our site can be used for whiskies if they’re shipping in the state of Virginia.
From our home in central Virginia to yours, we wish you and your family the best. We’re looking forward to welcoming you back to our Visitors Center and hope that 2021 will be the year that happens. Until then, cheers and be well this holiday season.
Here’s to Courageous Beginnings. 🥃
– The Team at Virginia Distillery Co.
During this festive season, we wish you and your loved ones a peaceful holiday and a joyful New Year.
Thank you to all our Cotswolds Distillery club members for your continued support during this extraordinary year.
All of us at the distillery wish you and your families a safe and Happy Christmas and we hope to be able to welcome you back to our beautiful Stourton home in 2021.
Kind regards,
The Cotswolds Distillery.
A few our our magical team.
Welcome to my annual Christmas ramblings for 2020.
Normally, contrary to belief, the Christmas letter comes fairly easily with a little light heartedness and a few pertinent stories from the year gone by; but this year is rather different isn’t it. Covid & Brexit – Brexit and Covid…..hard to make these subjects light hearted.
To be honest I should be consumed by both but both have gone on for so long – I find myself becoming immune to the daily updates by both our Government and the daily rags. More than a few of my friends get themselves very worked up on a regular basis about one or the other – or both, and like to apportion blame on our PM. I can’t quite bring myself to do this as I am not sure I could do any better and more importantly probably, I can’t think of anyone else who would do the job more to my liking.
The first useful part of my letter must concentrate on my staff at the distillery. Way back in March I took a very fast decision to shut the distillery bistro, this was a horrible decision to make having spent 3 years getting The Kitchen to a point where we had a wonderful team and were actually profitable, with hindsight it was a sensible call but we still miss those we had to let go. I did think the closure might see my waistline diminish but it seems my fridge at home provides adequate calories to ensure no such miracle has occurred.
As a result of the bistro closing, Lee moved the distillery reception and shop back to the old distillery building and I am delighted at how well it has worked. A doorbell to enter has ensured every visitor has their hands washed in high strength whisky and is donning a suitable mask. No one has moaned about this and it has made the distillery a very safe place to be.
Luckily for us we had commissioned a whole new website before 2020 Armageddon and as a result we were in a good place to move to online bookings for tours and the automating of engraved bottles etc. This has been a godsend – especially as you all have been very kind and have ordered plenty of engraved bottles – Thank you.
Quite amazingly, after 15 years of trying to export to China successfully, this is the year it happened – thank goodness. I am slightly concerned that exports generally have been better than expected, as it seems that me not turning up in a country has a positive effect… I have a feeling that when life returns to normal, my sales trips will be curtailed drastically so as not to ruin the good work of the team.
Production has continued as normal but with a new face on the distilling floor. Steve has retired, having worked for me for nearly twenty years and therefore it is a well-earned retirement – we wish him well. His replacement Chris has come from Greene King and has been thrown in at the deep end but seems to be coping just fine under the watchful eye of David.
The end of the year therefore sees us a leaner and hopefully fitter business with a great team all working their socks off to ensure our survival and for that I am grateful. I am also very grateful to you our customers as without you we simply would not exist. I want to wish each and every one of you a peaceful Christmas regardless of where you are and who you are with; if your loved ones can’t be with you – pick up the phone and call them preferably more than once.
Finally to finish on an exciting note. We have leased out The Kitchen building and the new operator has some wonderful plans, so we look forward to welcoming you back in 2021 for tours, whisky and lovely meals – all hopefully shared in the company of friends.
Merry Christmas
Andrew Nelsrop – MD.
We just wanted to send you a quick…
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I could harp on about how tough a year it has been, etc, etc., but we all know that already.
What I would like to say is that we have missed seeing everyone this year, in person. And that we have been truly touched by your messages of support and your patience and understanding throughout.
Our hope is that we can get together once more, when vaccines, or herd immunity, or whatever allows, and that 2021 treats us all a lot better than the 2020 model.
So, in summary, please do take care of you and yours, and we hope you enjoy the festive season and hopefully a well-earned break!
Much love.
Eddie
