Springbank Society Newsletter 
December 2020

It’s that time of year again where “All I want for Christmas is… Whisky” 

Well we can all agree that 2020 has been one to remember. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our Society members for your continued support, even through a global pandemic. Hopefully 2021 will let us see some of you in person again.

This month we have an update on upcoming releases, information on the greatly anticipated next society bottling and a round-up of distillery news, letting you know what has been happening in Campbeltown over the last few months.

Distillery News

In early September we finished with the last filling at Springbank and, after a couple of weeks of preparation, moved up to Glengyle and began producing Kilkerran in its various guises. The move up to Glengyle always signals the end of summer and the start of autumn for us, and we have been fortunate that the processes and procedures we have put in place to keep our staff safe from the spread of COVID have worked well and all our operations have proceeded as normally as can be expected in the current environment. We will continue to produce up at Glengyle until the 18th of December, which marks the final day of the working year before our Christmas holiday.

One of the biggest developments in the last 3 months has been the commissioning of our new warehouse, as after receiving clearance from the local council and approval from HMRC we were able to get the first quarter of the new warehouse racked and the first casks stowed – hooray! This new warehouse will be called ‘Warehouse 8’ as it sits between Warehouses 7, 9 and what was warehouse 10 (now dispatch) – very creative, eh? With a capacity of near 7,000 casks, it will help us to continue with our increased production output, as well as bringing more casks on site for Cadenhead’s.

Our maltings have continued to run constantly since we returned, helping to supply malt for Glengyle as well as giving us a head start at Springbank when we return in January. The bottling operations have been incredibly busy since we returned, with products being bottled and shipped to try to ‘catch up’ with the 4 months of lockdown we missed and to get new products out to our customers around the world.

Sales Team Events

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, all 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.  In the meantime we are planning an exciting online Society tasting event which will be held in early 2021. Look out for details being announced in January.

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

Although the sales team have been grounded in Campbeltown we hope that you enjoyed our trip to the online world with our virtual malts festival, we know we did. Our sales team continues to look for when they can do the next tasting (I think they are missing being out on the road) so keep your eyes peeled for any upcoming events.

If there is anything you would like to see from us in the meantime please get in touch.

Springbank sales team coming to your screens soon…that might be more of a Christmas nightmare than a miracle.

New Distillery Releases 

We made the most of our last few months of the year and released some cracking whiskies, the Springbank 17yo Madeira and the first ever Kilkerran 16yo being two of our highlights.

You will be pleased to hear we have some more exciting releases lined up for 2021.

February/ March 2021

Springbank 10yo Local Barley

Later than the regular Local Barley release date, our next edition has been bottled and will be dispatched across the world in the New Year.

Springbank 25yo 

The casks for our next Springbank 25yo release have been selected and will be bottled in early 2021.

Longrow Red 10yo Refill Malbec 

Our next expression of Longrow Red is also due to be released in early 2021. It has spent its final three years in refill Malbec barriques from the De Toren Private Cellar in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Kilkerran 8yo Cask Strength 

We are sure our Kilkerran fans will be excited to know that the next Kilkerran 8yo has been fully matured in Oloroso casks. Some of you may have had the chance to try it during our Kilkerran online tasting. This will also be available in early 2021.

Next Society Bottling 

Yes, the next greatly anticipated society bottling has been chosen, vatted and scheduled for bottling.  We can reveal that it is a Springbank 8yo fully matured in fresh oloroso hogsheads, bottled at cask strength.

We plan to release it on the Society Portal in early 2021. We will send an email closer to the time with details of this and our planned online tasting. Please ensure that you can log in to your account prior to the release date: https://experience.springbank.scot/.

Christmas Closure

The distilleries and our office will be closed from Friday 18th December until Monday 4th January. We look forward to catching up with you all in 2021.

Slàinte Mhath!

The Springbank Team

TO JOIN THE SOCIETY CONTACT THEM AT society@springbank.scot

Season’s Greetings
& Thank You

2020 has been quite a year.

But despite it all we have had incredible support from our customers.

So here is a selection of your photos shared through 2020.

See if you can spot yours.

And THANK YOU!

#HappyWhiskyCustomer

News on your new issue!

We’re delighted to announce that the latest edition of Whisky Magazine, issue #171, publishes later this week, and will be landing on your doorsteps shortly!Benriach’s Rachel Barrie graces our cover, as Dr Chris White delves into the history of the distillery. The feature examines Benriach’s less-than-auspicious beginnings in the late 1800s, and how it’s risen to become the brand we know today. Benriach’s storied past, combined with its rich stock of both spirit and cask types, means the distillery has not only resisted being pigeonholed by its whisky, but also offers a “world of flavour” for the team at the distillery to play with. But we’ll let you read what Rachel has to say about that part…

We hope you enjoy this issue!

Let us know your thoughts on Twitter or Instagram @Whisky_Magazine, or on Facebook @WhiskyMagazine

Christopher Coates
Editor
Whisky Magazine

WHAT’S IN WHISKY MAGAZINE 171?

Justine Hazelhurst defends blends, and explains why there’s more to Scotch than single malts

Becky Paskin takes a closer look at Scotland’s oldest distillery as it takes things in a new direction

Andy Jennings get stuck into Bourbon’s Irish roots

Plus, a bumper 55 whiskies tasted this issue!

Including Balcones, Glen Moray, Highland Park, Michter’s, The Glenlivet, and more!

Need Christmas gift ideas?

Why not give a subscription of Whisky Magazine – the ideal gift for all whisky lovers.

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Got a nose for a good deal? Treat yourself to the world’s finest Whisky Magazine and enjoy the same low price of 3 ISSUES FOR £3.

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Remember, you can also purchase back issues from our amazing back catalogue! 

BUY TODAY

Hard to Find Whisky have launched their Christmas catalogue – perfect for all your festive gifting needs, whether you’re buying for a die-hard fan or a newcomer to the world of whisky! See below for details.

FIND OUT MORE

Scotch Whisky 

The Whisky Magazine Annual

Have you seen our new Scotch Whisky annual?

Packed with interviews, distillery focus features and blind tasting reviews, Scotch Whisky turns the spotlight on distilleries old and new, large and small. Curated by Whisky Magazine’s editor, Christopher Coates, Scotch Whisky is a valuable addition to any whisky lover’s bookshelf.

• 132-page ‘bookazine’

• Available in print and digital editions

• Includes six in-depth interviews with the great and good of whisky

• Distillery features on Highland Park, GlenAllachie, Macallan, Rosebank, Raasay, Glenturret, and many more

• More than 100 blind tasting reviews of the latest whiskies
• Tasting notes and progress reports on unreleased spirits from some of Scotland’s newest distilleries

Best wishes,
The team at

Local Delivery Service

If collection is not an option, we can certainly help with that too! At your online Basket, simply enter your AB51 postcode in to the Local Delivery option and we will deliver to you! There is a £2.00 charge for this, however this will enable us to deliver to your door on Wednesday or Thursday to ensure that your order is with you for Christmas. Last orders for our local delivery to arrive before Christmas is 3pm on Christmas Eve.

Rewarding your loyalty

Sign up to our loyalty scheme today and earn rewards, discounts and offers. It’s free and easy to join, with no strings attached.

Raising your glass to the extraordinary

Inverurie Whisky Shop

1 Burnside, Inverurie, AB51 3RY, United Kingdom

mike@inveruriewhiskyshop.com

http://www.inveruriewhiskyshop.com

Are You Looking at the World’s Best Single Malt?

Well, according to the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, you are.

At this year’s awards, The Glenrothes 18 Year Old picked up the Chairman’s Trophy and received an overall score of 98 – the highest score of any whisky in the entire competition, and the third best score overall.

This means that, according to the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, The Glenrothes 18 Year Old is the best single malt in the world. Not too bad, we think you’ll agree.

These awards are judged by highly respected authorities in the industry, so we were delighted to do so well. It’s a real testament to the craft, passion and commitment of our brilliant distillery and whisky-making teams.

We’ve always known we make good whisky. Now the world knows it, too.

Explore The Glenrothes Range

#SpiritOfRothes

We are still accepting orders to UK destinations for Christmas delivery!

We’re extending the deadline until 4pm on Tuesday December 22nd GMT.

DISCOVER

Merry Christmas to all our members near and far. There is no doubt that this year has been challenging but it has brought us together in many wonderful ways. Thanks for being with us, you really do make us #alltogetherunique. Just take a look at all our whisky adventures this year…

A YEAR UNLIKE ANY OTHER, BETTER DAYS AHEAD

Members have always been at the heart of the Society, and we kicked off 2020 by reinforcing our commitment to put you at the heart of everything we do as a club.

The Society’s MD and Chief Member Champion, David Ridley, reflects on this year and looks forward to more whisky adventures in 2021. Click over to our website to read more.

DISCOVER MORE

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

New magical malts! ✨

Brand new bottles at Loch Fyne: Chinese New Year special bottlings from Johnnie Walker, a magical cask from Compass Box, and new drams from Benromach, Paul John, Westland and more!

Shop New Releases ›

Compass Box Magic Cask
£157.00

A blended malt made up mostly of whisky from the closed Imperial Distillery, drawn from 1st-fill bourbon barrels and blended with a younger Speyside whisky, which was re-racked into Oloroso-seasoned butt casks. Behold, the Magic Cask!

Buy Now ›