Springbank Society Newsletter

December 2013

Festive greetings Society Members!

Well, the final countdown to Christmas is well and truly on and things are almost tied up here for the year. All distillery and office staff are finishing up this Friday and will return to work on Monday 6th January after a well earned two week holiday! We always know that Christmas is near when the Springbank Santa visits the office to give us our present from the company – today he dropped off a bottle of Springbank Burgundy Wood for each of us which looks delicious! We are all looking forward to the festivities and will be kicking things off in style on Friday evening with the Springbank Christmas night out where we will enjoy dinner in one of the local restaurants before descending on the pubs of Campbeltown!

Friday will mark the end of an extremely busy and successful year for us. The Sales Team have been doing their sums this week and have worked out that in 2013 they have:

* Visited 21 countries across the globe

* Attended 45 festivals and shows

* Hosted 63 tastings

Tour figures have also been counted and during 2013 we welcomed over 3,600 visitors to the distillery with numbers continuing to increase steadily each year. As well as Grant, George and old favourite Jim showing guests around, we had two new additions to the tour team this year; Siobhan and Martin who have been doing a great job of learning the process and sharing their knowledge on how things are done at Springbank. I think it’s safe to say that they have all been very busy bees and definitely deserve the upcoming break!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your continued support and loyalty during 2013 and also for making me feel very welcome when I took over the running of the Society in the Summer. I have loved my time with the Society so far and have really enjoyed getting to know many of you this year. I am keen to introduce some new things to the Society in 2014 and would like to hear any ideas you may have. We are always open to suggestions so it would be great if you could tell me if there is anything you would like to see introduced – I can’t make any promises that we will do them all but its always interesting to hear your ideas and hopefully we will be able to try some of them out in the future.

Glengyle Distillation

Our 6 still men and woman have been up at Glengyle distilling for the past 6 weeks and will conclude operation today. 2014 is going to be a very exciting year for the Kilkerran whisky as it celebrates its 10th birthday. We plan to have a night to mark this special occasion and will most likely tie it in with the Open Day in May so I will keep you all posted with details in the new year.

Christmas Market at Springbank Distillery

On Sunday 8th December, the Malt Barns at Springbank were transformed into a Winter Wonderland for the first annual Explore Campbeltown Christmas Market. When the Malt Barns have not been in use we have discovered that they are a great venue for events to be held in! Over the year they have featured a pop up Art Gallery for talented local artist Dawnne McGeachy, hosted the wedding of Mark Watt from Cadenhead’s and now played host to the Christmas Market.

In the lead up to the event, Charlie and John did an impressive job of giving the Malt Barns a colourful make-over and all the supporting pillars (yes, all 42 of them) have been painted in a range of different colours. For those of you who have not been to the distillery, all the pillars were previously painted a dull shade of orange, but they now feature a mix of orange, red, green, purple and gold! Not only do they brighten the place up, but each of the colours also represent a label in the core Springbank range and they actually look really great!

As Springbank was one of the founding members of Explore Campbeltown back in February, I have been heavily involved with the day to day running of the website and Facebook page as well as helping to organise the various events held throughout the year.

The idea of a Christmas Market was first suggested by one of the stall holders at our Open Day in May this year and I worked together with her to create a fun filled day that all the family could enjoy.

A total of 46 local businesses were present selling a range of gifts, with a mixture of local crafters and retail shops as well as beauty and food stalls. Donald and Leslie from Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop were there selling Springbank products and Donald also made some Mulled Wine and Hot Toddies for the day although if you know Donald, I’m sure you can guess that he drank just as much as he sold!

We had a very talented member of the Campbeltown Brass Band entertaining the crowds on her Cornet for the majority of the day, playing lots of our Christmas favourites and she raised a fantastic sum of £192.19 for the Brass Band. Santa and his charming elves managed to take time out of their busy schedule to come along for the day and were kept extremely busy with excited kids (and some adults!) dropping by the grotto telling Santa what was on their wish list.

We were all amazed at the number of both locals and visitors who turned up in their hundreds to enjoy the day and get into the Christmas spirit. There was a great buzz about the place and the Malt Barns have proved to be an excellent choice of venue for this type of event as they have bags of atmosphere. There has been some brilliant feedback and we are already thinking about ways to make it even bigger and better next year!

Malt Maniacs Awards 2013

The results of the Malt Maniacs Awards were published recently and we are delighted with the results as all three of our entries were awarded medals. The latest batch of Springbank 12 year old Cask Strength (50.3%) was crowned the winner of the ‘Best Natural Cask’ in the Daily Drams Section and also won a silver medal overall with 86 points out of 100. The Longrow Red Shiraz cask scored an impressive 88 points out of 100 and also won a silver medal and the Campbeltown Loch 21 year old was awarded a bronze medal with 82 points out of 100. It’s a great achievement for all three to be recognised by the judging panel and we would like to say well done and thank you to all involved in the 11th edition of the awards.

Whisky School 2014

Whisky School places for 2014 have been filling up very fast and the bookings have definitely been keeping Janet on her toes! There are only 3 spaces left to fill during the 7 week spell next year. There is 1 space left on Term 6 (week commencing Monday 16th June 2014) and 2 spaces left on Term 7 (the final week which will commence Monday 23rd June). If you would like to find out more about what the Whisky School involves then please email whiskyschool@springbankwhisky.com and Janet will be more than happy to give you more details.

Latest Society Bottling

Many of our UK members have already received the new Society bottle (Springbank 12 year old Port – £55.00, released in November 2013) and I’ve had some good feedback on it. Just a reminder that reserved Society bottles which are to be delivered to our European shops for members will begin to be dispatched in the new year with the next shop orders. I do not have specific time scales for this yet so please be patient and I will try to get dates to you as quickly as I can in the new year. If you would like your bottle sent to one of the shops and have not stated this to me yet then please do asap so we can arrange for it to be included in the first order in 2014. Bottles can be sent to the following shops for collection:

• Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop, Campbeltown, Scotland

• Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop, Edinburgh, Scotland

• Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop, London

• Cadenhead’s Whisky Market, Cologne, Germany

• Cadenhead’s Whisky Market, Berlin, Germany

• Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop, Odense, Denmark

• Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop, Copenhagen, Denmark

• Cadenhead’s Whisky & More, Baden, Switzerland

• Cadenhead’s Whisky Market, Salzburg, Austria

2014 Releases

There will be two exciting releases from the distillery in January 2014.

The first will be the new batch of Springbank 21 year old which will be bottled at 46% with only 2,700 bottles available worldwide. The cost for this will remain unchanged for another year and will retail at £180.00 per bottle. Society members will receive a slight discount of £10.00 per bottle and will be able to buy it for £170.00.

The other special release will be the Hazelburn Rundlets & Kilderkins which is the third and final release from the R&K range. This will be 10 years old and bottled at 50.1% with 12,000 bottles available for worldwide distribution. The whisky was put in small casks for the duration of the maturation which were a mixture of ex Bourbon and Sherry casks. The price per bottle is £60.00 and Society members will get their full 10% discount making it £54.00 for all of you.

Well, that pretty much sums up what is going on here in Campbeltown so all that is left for me to say is that I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year filled with lots of happiness and of course, lots of whisky! I look forward to speaking to you all in 2014.

Slainte,

Mairi

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

“We can’t quite believe what a year it’s been for Jura. With the friends we’ve made over the past 12 months, celebrating our 50th anniversary, and the new whiskies we’ve launched across the globe, it’s been a truly incredible 2013. The stories we’ve created together since, have been unforgettable, and watching Jura be an inspiration for you to write your own stories is our greatest legacy to date. I’m here at the Jura distillery raising a dram to you all. Merry Christmas, from Willie and everyone at Jura”

Tomatin Whisky Dinner Monday January 13th

Tomatin Distillery Manager Graham Eunson will be hosting the first whisky dinner of the year at The Kitchen.

Our talented Kitchen team has been tasked with pairing 5 whiskies with 5 dishes to kick off our first whisky dinner of 2014! As those of you who have had the pleasure of attending one of our previous whisky dinners know, the team is always spot on.

Join us and Graham Eunson as we travel through the history of Tomatin and sample some of the magic of the Highlands accompanied by some great food with fellow whisky lovers.

The cost for this event is only $55 + gst and gratuity and is open to only 25 people! click here to register

Learn More »

As many of you know, 2013 marked the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s 30th anniversary!

In conjunction with the special edition “Pearl” bottlings we have released, we are also pleased to provide a 30th anniversary edition of the award-winning magazine Unfiltered.

Rather than sending out hard copies, we offer the following link to the electronic version: http://ow.ly/rMQby

So settle in with dram in hand, and enjoy this latest edition (which features two of our members on page 7).

As Christmas quickly approaches, we would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for your support and wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy 2014 filled with love, laughter and wonderful drams!

Very sincerely,
Rob and Kelly Carpenter
Founders, SMWS Canada

To join the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of Canada please visit them here 

VINTAGE

Our new Vintage Collection

This Christmas, finding the perfect gift for your loved ones couldn’t be easier with the release of three new Vintages from Balblair Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Whether you choose the luxurious Balblair 1983, the exceptional 1990 Vintage, the popular Balblair 2003, or gift all three for the ultimate Christmas present, each whisky has their own distinct flavour and bespoke packaging.

• If it’s a relaxing evening dram you’re after why not try the premium Balblair 2003 (£40.99). Infused with floral notes and hints of citrus fruits, apricots and honey, Balblair 2003 is a full bodied and well balanced whisky that combines orange, lemon, honey and spice.

• Perfect for sharing with special friends, the Balblair 1990 (£84.99) is matured in American oak ex-bourbon casks, but with the addition of Spanish oak ex-sherry butts. This creates a medley of spicy and sweet aromas that are punctuated with notes of raisins, toffee and honey.

• For whisky connoisseurs, Balblair 1983 (£200) is the perfect gift. The luxurious vintage has complex aromas, from warm scents of butterscotch and toffee, to fragrant vanilla.

Visit our website to find out more about the full Balblair Vintage Collection.

Merry Christmas from World Whisky Day

Just a quick wee message to wish you a very happy holiday.

2014 is going to be a very special year and World Whisky Day on Saturday 17th May is going to be the biggest yet!

Our brand new website will be going live in the new year and we will be running loads of great competitions in the run up to World Whisky Day. So there are lots of exciting things to look forward to!

Don’t forget to mark your calendars!

World Whisky Day – Saturday 17th May 2014

Check out www.worldwhiskyday.com in the new year to see our amazing new website!

MCLEANSCOTLAND (ANGELS WHISKY CLUB) northern  Christmas party.

This year (2013) they decided on Inverness for the staff party. En route from Perth, they first stopped by Dalwhinnie distillery, a quick nose around, do a touch of shopping and a few hello’s! A few chocolate truffles, a miniature or three and some presents taken on board (Liz did the shopping, Paul did the paying, how does this always happen?) At over 1073 feet they claim to be the highest distillery in the land. Dalwhinnie, in Gaelic ‘The Meeting Place`, was where, in the past, drovers from the north and west would meet before driving their cattle onwards to the markets in Crieff and Falkirk. Dalwhinnie has for centuries been a meeting place, for the cattle drovers travelling down from the North, or over from Kintail, Skye and the Hebrides,to the main markets at Crieff in Perthshire. It is probable that there was at that time an illicit still at Dalwhinnie, to meet their needs, as the journey was long and arduous, and required frequent resting periods. It was originally called the Strathspey Distillery after it first began production, severe recession hit the industry and the company went into liquidation. In the early 1930’s Dalwhinnie was still untouched by the 20th Century. There was no telephone and no electricity in the village, the distillery was lit by parafin lamps and equipment was powered by steam engines. Then in 1934, a serious fire caused extensive damage. The distillery was rebuilt and refitted in 1938, only to shut down again during the Second World War. In 1992 the distillery closed for a £3.2 million refurbishment, re-opening in March 1995, and now employs 6 people in the production of the “gentle Spirit”.

Moving on, sadly nae drams for driver Paul, the next call was at Tomatin distillery. Paul has been here many, many times, but Liz had never been before! A good reason to visit. One of the highest (aye, another one) in Scotland, sitting at 315m above sea level, deep in the heart of the Monadhliath Mountains. Established in 1897, Tomatin is now the last working distillery in the Inverness area. With twelve stills in operation, it is one of the largest in Scotland – in the 1970s, a staggering 23 stills operated 365 days a year, producing an amazing 12 million litres of single malt Scotch Whisky a year. In the Visitor Centre, FREE of charge is a taste of their  12 year old Single Highland Malt Whisky – how good is that?  While Liz enjoyed Paul’s dram, he did a wee bit of shopping, closely followed by Liz. Another good visit. The first thing that hits you here as you drive up, is the huge mass of warehouses, a wee bit blackened by time, but just think what is in there?

Christmas dinner is close now – arriving at Inverness they made their way to the lovely 4 star Kingsmills hotel, checked in, Paul caught up with the drams, Liz went to “change” (into what we ask?). There then followed drinkiepoos! Whisky, cocktails and more cocktails. Christmas dinner had been pre booked at the Mustard Seed restaurant, a taxi too kthem there – all the way to Inverness just to find a Scouse taxi driver! Good food, good craik and a good time had by all. Back to the hotel, more wine followed, eyes started drooping by now …

The following day they headed to Elgin, stopping for a photo at Benromach, the reason for Elgin was a visit to Gordon & MacPhail, a pre arranged meeting to chat over casks, own label bottles, tours, The European Pipebands in June (they sponsor this event) and general catch up. … Just as his father had introduced him to the firm, so George brought in his own children. The oldest, Ian, joined in 1967, after having been trained in the wine and spirit trade in London and France. He was followed by David in 1972 and Michael in 1981. The family partnership became a limited company in the late 1970s, ownership remained with the family, as it does to this day. George Urquhart died in 2001, five years before his grandsons Stephen Rankin and Neil Urquhart were appointed Associate Directors. They became Directors in September 2010. Today sees other members of the fourth generation join the firm as Richard Urquhart and twin brother Stuart continue the family tradition and support the company as it moves into a fast-paced, technology driven 21st century.

Their long established relationships with distilleries throughout Scotland allows them to send oak casks to the majority of Scotland’s distilleries to be filled with ‘new make’ spirit, which then mature for many years at the distillery of origin or in their own bonded warehouses in Elgin. The oak casks are carefully stowed and regularly checked until they finally achieve highest quality standards.   Only then are they bottled and presented for sale. The philosophy for maturing, selecting and bottling, ensures that they produce the highest quality whiskies.  Sherry casks are made in Spain, seasoned for a number of years and finally when they are ready, are brought to Scotland.  Ex-bourbon casks from selected distilleries in Kentucky, and other specialist wine casks from throughout the world.  

Back doon the road to Broughty Ferry to drop off Liz at her home, a cup of tea for Paul the taxi driver/chauffeur, “can you drop me off at the pub please?” says Liz, ok, her pals were in there, before he headed back to Perth. The staff party was Liz and Paul! Stan the stag did go with them but he had a hangover and was no too good company. Where to next year? After a good trip (again) they are thinking of holding a new year trip also – all work mind! 

http://www.mcleanscotland.com/  fantastic whisky tours of Scotland

www.angelswhiskyclub.com members whisky club, Charlie Maclean Patron – a free club! 

picture shows Liz enjoying food and drink at the Mustard Seed, Inverness. we image; Stan the stag.

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