Is this the best dram job in the world?

Annandale Distillery in Southern Scotland lists on Airbnb

• An independent Scottish distillery in Dumfries and Galloway has listed on Airbnb for a limited time this summer, inviting guests to become a distiller for a day
• During the immersive two night stay, guests will shadow Annandale’s expert distillery team and sleep in cottages next to the distillery site
• The stay is available only on Airbnb as part of a wider campaign to champion tourism in the Scottish Lowlands and support local businesses

To celebrate Scottish Whisky Month, Annandale Distillery, an independent whisky distillery in the south of Scotland, is opening its doors to whisky fans and offering an opportunity to go behind the scenes and become a distiller for a day. The stay is available only on Airbnb as part of a new campaign to encourage people to visit the Scottish Lowlands.

The two night stay, which is being made available to members of the public for a limited time this summer, offers guests the chance to sleep in cottages next to the distillery site, get ‘hands on’ and learn the fundamentals of whisky distilling.

Guests will get to participate in each stage of the process from meeting the malt delivery, to milling and mashing the barley, fermentation, firing up the stills and filling the casks. They’ll also be taken for a whisky tasting and evening meal at The Globe Inn, Dumfries. The Globe Inn is an historic pub dating back to 1610 and once frequented by Robert Burns, with two chefs with Michelin Star experience at the helm. Each guest will check out from their stay with a bottle of Annandale’s Single Malt Scotch Whisky and armed with their newfound knowledge about the work and dedication that goes into making it.

While the focus is often on the Highlands when it comes to Scottish whisky, true aficionados know that Southern Scotland should not be overlooked in the pursuit of a good dram. Annandale Distillery was first established in 1836 and ‘reborn’ in 2014. It has been lovingly restored by new owners David Thomson and Teresa Church and now produces some of Scotland’s finest Single Malt Whisky and Blends.

The stay at Annandale showcases one the region’s finest exports, and David and Teresa anticipate it to be a real draw to the area for whisky fans.

David Thomson & Teresa Church, owners of Annandale Distillery, have said: “One of the principal reasons why we decided to restore Annandale Distillery was our burning desire to re-introduce Scotch Whisky production to Southern Scotland, based on the conviction that this region of Scotland has everything required, but most especially the climate and the abundance of water, to produce first class Single Malts. This stay on Airbnb gives us the chance to involve guests behind the scenes and show them that the Scotch Whisky produced at Annandale is more than a product, it’s a labour of love! Enticing visitors to our part of Scotland is not only good for us but also for other local businesses.” 

This stay is part of a wider campaign from Airbnb to champion tourism in the Scottish Lowlands and support local businesses in the area, spotlighting some of what the region has to offer. The campaign comes amidst unprecedented demand for staycations in the British Isles as the lifting of restrictions is anticipated, and aims to encourage holidaymakers to consider the wealth of stays and experiences available in Scotland beyond the more widely-publicised Highlands and major cities.

VisitScotland Regional Leadership Director Paula Ward said: “Scotland is full of unforgettable experiences and it is fantastic to see Annandale Distillery feature as part of this new Airbnb campaign to encourage people to visit the Scottish lowlands. We know that many visitors are looking for something special, an authentic experience that they won’t get elsewhere and this experience at Annandale Distillery offers to do just that. 

“Businesses right across the Scottish lowlands look set to benefit from the increased awareness of the region as part of this campaign. Encouraging visitors to stay longer, visit all year round and explore more of what our country has to offer will be crucial as we focus on the recovery of the industry from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Tourism is a force for good – creating economic and social value in every corner of Scotland and enhancing the wellbeing of everyone who experiences it.”

A boost in demand for the Lowlands region would present economic opportunity for potential Hosts in the area and their local communities; travel on Airbnb in the Lowlands boosts local economies by nearly £70 million each year, supporting over 3,300 jobs¹  and during last summer, Hosts on Airbnb in the UK earned more than £225 million, with the average Host earning nearly £1,000.²

Amanda Cupples, General Manager for Northern Europe at Airbnb comments: “Many tourists pass through the Lowlands on their way to the Highlands and other areas of Scotland, without realising all the incredible experiences they’re missing out on. The stay at Annandale Distillery is truly a unique experience for whisky lovers, and an opportunity to visit somewhere they might not have considered before.”

Booking details:

To view the distillery listing on Airbnb, visit airbnb.com/annandaledistillery

Annandale Distillery is located in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway. The stay will be available to book for £480 for two people on the following dates:

• 8-10 June 2021
• 22-24 June 2021
• 4-6 August 2021
• 17-19 August 2021

This unique opportunity is not a contest and given the high level of interest anticipated, Annandale will be adding bookable dates from 10AM BST on 17 May 2021, to give as many people as possible the opportunity to book. Interested guests should note that booking rules are in strict adherence with local COVID-19 guidelines and those who request to book must be 18+ and currently live in the UK.

Notes

¹ Based on a 2020 study by BiGGAR Economics, commissioned by Airbnb.

Total and median UK Host earnings for June 1 2020 – August 31 2020, converted from USD on 23 February 2021

About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to 4 million Hosts who have welcomed over 800 million guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer one-of-a-kind stays and unique Experiences that make it possible for guests to experience the world in a more authentic, connected way.

About Annandale Distillery

Annandale Distillery was established in 1836 by George Donald, making it one of the earliest ‘legal’ whisky distilleries in Scotland and was later bought by Johnnie Walker in 1893, closing down in 1924. In 2007 the distillery was rescued by David Thomson & Teresa Church, and this once-derelict distillery sprang back into life on November 3rd, 2014. Winner of Best Single Cask Single Malt 10yrs and Under for the past two years, and proud to have been awarded a 5 Star Visitor Attraction by Visit Scotland, Annandale’s 50,000 annual visitors are always guaranteed an experience to remember.

LIVE VIRTUAL TASTING

We’re delighted to invite you to join us for our next Live Virtual Tasting on Thursday, 27th May at 6:00pm BST.

Streaming live from Facebook and YouTube will be our hosts Robbie Hughes and Gordon Dallas plus distinguished guests Charles MacLean, Author and Master of the Quaich, and Food and Drink journalist Rosalind Erskine.

The tasting will feature Glengoyne 10 Year Old, 18 Year Old and Cask Strength, Batch 008. You can join in on the tasting experience from the comfort of your home by purchasing one of our Tasting Kits.

THREE FANTASTIC DRAMS

The Tasting Kits are priced at £27.50 and contain 5cl drams of Glengoyne 10 Year Old, 18 Year Old, Cask Strength, Batch 008, plus a Glengoyne Glencairn glass, allowing you to fully appreciate the aroma, mouthfeel and lingering notes of the whisky on your palate.

Introduced in 2010, after cask strength versions in 2004 and 2005, this is the first officially-bottled Caol Ila 25yo to be bottled at 43%. It’s nice to see growing recognition for this excellent distillery, and this is a very welcome addition to the official range, with a rich, gentle mouthfeel and restrained, coal-esque phenols.

£149

Whisky Ramblings 386: Chaos Batch #1 North Star Spirits

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, experiences Chaos… Name-wise this is very apt considering what North Star Spirits already bottled with Spica, Vega and Sirius. All of them are references to the galaxy. Chaos was, after all, what came after the Big Bang. In this case it’s a whisky composed with three casks of Caol Ila. Two PX hogsheads that were put to sleep in 2010 and a refill hogshead that was filled in 2009. After vatting they yielded no less than 1.200 bottles of single malt at 50%.

https://youtu.be/jukiu_4yr5I

THE SOCIETY HAS GOLD RUSH AT SAN FRANCISCO WORLD SPIRITS COMPETITON 

All whiskies entered by the SMWS took either Double Gold or Gold at prestigious awards

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) have continued their annual success at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition by taking home a ‘Best in show’ award along with a host of ‘Double Gold’ and ‘Gold’ awards.

The Society took home the coveted top award for their bottle 46.104 Turn Me Inside Out as well as a range of other ‘Double Gold’ medals for G7.18 A Colourful Oldie and 112.75 Queen of Tarts.

There was also ‘Gold’ accreditation at the 2021 awards for casks 112.74 A Preternatural Good-Striker and 35.264 Midnight Marmalade, overall recognising the consistently outstanding quality of their whiskies across the board.

Founded in 2000, the influential San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) is the oldest of its kind in the U.S. and has become one of the world’s most respected spirits competitions. A SFWSC medal is a universally recognised indicator of exceptional quality and craftsmanship.

A seasoned panel of experts review over 1,000 whisky entries before world-class judges score and award only the highest calibre liquids with a globally prestigious SFWSC medal.

The Society, which is ‘the world’s most entertaining whisky club’, specialises in single cask whisky and takes a unique approach to their bottlings by celebrating the flavours across whisky through 12 flavour profiles.

Membership to The Scotch Malt Whisky Society includes access to buy from their unique whisky range, as well as entry to exclusive Members’ Rooms, partner bar discounts, colourful tasting events, whisky education and content including a monthly members magazine Unfiltered, all for only £65: https://smws.com/whisky-club-membership

Kai Ivalo, Spirits Director at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society said: “We’re excited to have continued our success and picked up another haul of prestigious awards for our excellent array of single malt whiskies. These triumphs demonstrate that now is the perfect time to get on board with our entertaining whisky club.”

Full awards listed below:

Double Gold

• Best Independent Merchant Single Malt Scotch,DOUBLE GOLDMEDAL, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Cask 46.104 Turn Me Inside Out, Scotland, United Kingdom [57.2%] $120. Importer: MHW, Ltd www.smwsa.com  — Award Code: 414
• DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Cask G7.18 A Colourful Oldie, Scotland, United Kingdom [54.5%] $210. Importer: MHW, Ltd www.smwsa.com— Award Code: 413
• DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Cask 112.75 Queen of Tarts, Scotland, United Kingdom [59.1%] $120. Importer: MHW, Ltd www.smwsa.com— Award Code: 416

Gold

• GOLD MEDAL, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Cask 112.74 A Preternatural Good-Striker, Scotland, United Kingdom [56.8%] $120. Importer: MHW, Ltd www.smwsa.com— Award Code: 415
• GOLD MEDAL, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Cask 35.264 Midnight Marmalade, Scotland, United Kingdom [46.1%] $595. Importer: MHW, Ltd www.smwsa.com— Award Code: 417

https://www.smws.com/

f: https://www.facebook.com/thesmwsuk

i: https://www.instagram.com/smws_uk/

t: https://twitter.com/SMWSUK

yt: https://www.youtube.com/user/SMWSsilverscreen/videos

#SMWS

 Notes:

About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society 

• The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and now has more than 27,000 members and branches around the world
• The SMWS bottles rare single cask, single malt whisky, and a range of other spirits
• The Society bottles single malts, unique single casks and exclusive blends
• The Society has bottled whisky from more than 146 distilleries from Scotland and beyond
• The Society offers a new batch of around 20 single cask, single malt whiskies every month
• The Society offers a variety of membership packages which can be tailored. Please see https://bit.ly/2uqKanT
• For more information about the Society, visit https://bit.ly/2HHiNyC
• Twitter: @SMWSUK Facebook: @thesmwsuk Instagram: @smws_uk

Whisky Presentation Box Humidors by Dave

Humidors by Dave!

Have your favourite scotch whisky presentation box upgraded to a cigar humidor!

US$220

Contact Dave at daveswhiskyhumidors@gmail.com

Price does not include shipping or the presentation box. 

Virginia Distillery Company’s Whiskies Win at San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Courage & Conviction line recognized with double gold and gold awards

Lovingston, Va. (May 5, 2021) – Three new Virginia Distillery Company whiskies recently took home awards at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, an awards program that has become one of the most respected and influential spirits competitions in the world since its start in 2000.

The distillery’s Courage & Conviction Sherry Cask and Courage & Conviction Cuvée Cask were both recognized with a double gold medal while Courage & Conviction Bourbon Cask was recognized with a gold medal.

“We’re thrilled that these new additions to our product lineup are already being recognized with awards from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition,” Virginia Distillery Company CEO Gareth H. Moore said. “I’m very proud of our team, the work that went into making this happen and for the guidance of our mentors who have helped to shape our whisky.”

The three whiskies were released in March as a part of the Courage & Conviction product line, featuring individual bottlings of the core trio of casks – bourbon, sherry and cuvée – that make up the flagship offering of Courage & Conviction. Courage & Conviction is the distillery’s flagship American Single Malt whisky line, distilled on-site using 100% North American malted barley and mountain spring-fed water.

Each expression is an American Single Malt whisky, aged a minimum of three years. Each expression is available in a 750ml, retailing for $84.99 per bottle with a 46% ABV. The whiskies are available to purchase through direct-to-consumer shipping and at select retail locations throughout the country, with availability throughout Virginia at Virginia ABC stores.

The 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition had more than 3,500 entries. All entries were tasted blind by a panel of judges made up of spirits industry experts throughout a four-day judging process.

For more information about Virginia Distillery Company or American Single Malt whisky, visit the distillery’s website and complete guide to American Single Malt whisky.  For more details about the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, visit the website.

About Virginia Distillery Company 

Staffed by a local Virginia team mentored by Scottish consultants with decades of experience, Virginia Distillery Company is the largest dedicated American Single Malt whisky distillery in the U.S. The distillery has a current annual production volume of 80,000 4.5L cases and growing. At full capacity, the distillery can produce over 8,000 casks yielding 350,000 4.5L cases annually. The distillery produces Courage & Conviction American Single Malt on-site using malted barley from North America and water from Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. In addition, the distillery offers the award-winning VHW series, made with 100% malted barley. Showcasing both Old and New World whisky-making, the award-winning line marries whisky made on-site in Virginia with whisky from Scotland.

Golden Moon Distillery Receives a Double Gold Medal at the 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC)

Golden, CO (23 April, 2021) – Golden Moon Distillery, founded in 2008 by Master Distiller Stephen Gould and Karen Knight, received A DOUBLE GOLD Medal for Golden Moon Triple – A Colorado Single Malt Whiskey.

Golden Moon Distillery has now taken major awards (i.e. gold medal or above at one of the most respected spirits competitions in the industry) with every single grain-to-glass product we’ve produced at Golden Moon (and by that we mean mashed, fermented, distilled, matured and bottled at Golden Moon Distillery).

Golden Moon Distillery was given “Highly Commended” for Distiller of the Year (i.e. first runner up).

According to Mr. Gould “It’s been a busy few weeks. Taking double gold and gold medals at the the San Francisco World Spirits Competition … We’ve been very fortunate this spring to get this level of attention and number of accolades from the spirits industry. Golden Moon has survived the pandemic and is headed in a great direction.”

Currently, Golden Moon Distillery is distributed in 17 states in the U.S. as well as internationally in the U.K, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Norway and Taiwan. Within the next year, Gould plans to have presence in 20 states as well as India and Japan.

About Golden Moon Distillery http://goldenmoondistillery.com,

Golden Moon Distillery was founded in 2008 by Master Distiller Stephen Gould and Karen Knight, in Golden, CO. Golden Moon currently produces 21 different handcrafted liquor and liqueurs, which are sold in various major markets in the United States and Europe.

Gould has been distilling on and off for over 30 years, and he is a board member of the Colorado Distiller’s Guild, a national craft advisory board member of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), the chariman of the veterans committee of the American Distilling Institute and a member of the American Craft Spirit Association (ACSA).

Current Golden Moon offerings include: Golden Moon Colorado Single Malt Whiskies plus other spirits. They also produce the Gun Fighter family of whiskies.

CHIVAS BROTHERS WELCOMES BACK VISITORS TO SAFELY ENJOY ITS WORLD-FAMOUS SCOTCH DISTILLERY EXPERIENCES

We are welcoming visitors into our world-famous distilleries once again, following their temporary closure in January earlier this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In line with Scottish government guidelines, whisky lovers can now enjoy outdoor guided tastings at The Glenlivet and Strathisla visitor centres, whilst visitors to Aberlour distillery can purchase whiskies from its on-site shop from this week. 

In addition to learning about the craftsmanship behind some of Chivas Brothers’ world renowned whiskies, Scotch enthusiasts will be able to purchase their favourite blends and single malts from the shops at each site.  

Each site has been equipped with extensive health and safety measures to ensure visitors can take part in the adapted tasting experiences, operating with clear social distancing, increased cleaning procedures and at a reduced capacity across the sites.  

THE GLENLIVET EXPERIENCE

At The Glenlivet, visitors will be able to enjoy the Single Cask Tasting experience in an outdoor socially distanced setting overlooking the breath-taking views of The Livet Valley.  Tastings will be available at 1pm or 3pm, from Wednesday to Friday. 

Visitors to The Glenlivet will be welcomed at a temporary visitor space in the Malt Barn as the visitor centre is currently undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment that will be opening its new look doors to visitors from July 2021. 

THE STRATHISLA EXPERIENCE

The heart of Chivas Regal, Strathisla Distillery is inviting visitors to explore Speyside’s oldest and most picturesque working distillery. Whisky fans will be able to discover the history behind the world-famous blended Scotch through outdoor flight and sampling experiences between Tuesday and Saturday. 

THE ABERLOUR EXPERIENCE

Whisky fans will be able to purchase any of the world-class whiskies available at the on-site shop, before being invited to enjoy indoor guided tasting experiences such as The Fleming Flight and Speyside Collection from the 19th May.  

For more information outdoor tasting experiences, tickets and opening times, visit https://www.maltwhiskydistilleries.com/.   

Those wishing to visit the distilleries and experience a socially distanced guided tasting will be required to pre-book their tickets online in order to effectively manage visitor numbers and ensure strict social distancing measures are adhered to at all times. Each site is also operating in accordance with the COVID-19 Test and Protect initiative to ensure the safety of visitors, staff and the surrounding community. 

Restock of award-winning Glen Scotia 25 Year Old!

This Glen Scotia has been matured in American oak casks for a quarter of a century before being hand-selected by the distillery’s Master Blender, Michael Henry, to be married in first-fill bourbon casks for up to a year before bottling. Bottled at 48.8% ABV, free from chill-filtration and artificial colouring, this is a smooth and refined Campbeltown single malt with an exceptional mouthfeel. Liquid gold! Maybe you tried to purchase a bottle last time around and were not quick enough – well now you’re in luck! A limited restock has arrived at Loch Fyne, so don’t hesitate if you want to get your hands on a bottle of this incredible single malt whisky.

Last month at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Glen Scotia 25 Year Old was awarded the highest accolade of ‘Best in Show’. With around 3800 entrants Glen Scotia came out on top and are proud to be labelled as the current best whisky in the world – not bad eh?

Glen Scotia
25 Year Old

£375.00

Buy Now