Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 358: Ledaig 26 Year Old 1993 Casqueteers

Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, tries a peaty malt from Mull. Casqueteers is a brotherhood of whisky lovers that purchase a cask every now and then in which you can buy a part. They recently bottled a single cask Ledaig from 1993, giving it the wonderful age of 26 years. Cask #243 was laid down on 5^th March 1993 and bottled on the 10^th September 2010.

https://youtu.be/nxzsmltpJEU

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

HUNTER LAING LAUNCHES NEW EIDOLON SERIES TO CELEBRATE RARE PORT ELLEN SINGLE MALT 

Hunter Laing & Co. reveals the limited edition 36 Year Old whisky, the first in a series of three.

The family-owned Scotch whisky distiller, blender and bottler Hunter Laing & Co. introduces the brand-new bottling series Eidolon. This release is the first in a three-part series of Port Ellen limited-edition bottlings.

Distilled in 1983 shortly before the legendary Islay distillery was to close, only 638 bottles of the limited-edition Port Ellen Islay Single Malt Whisky will be available to purchase. As with all of Hunter Laing’s rarest independent bottlings, the Eidolon series is presented at natural cask strength and without artificial colouring or chill-filtration. The 53.5% ABV Eidolon first release can be found at specially selected whisky stores worldwide and on the Ardnahoe Distillery online shop, ardnahoedistilleryshop.com.

Hunter Laing & Co. is known for its cask stocks of rare aged whiskies, particularly from Islay. Founder Stewart Laing’s own father was particularly fond of Port Ellen Distillery whilst it was in operation and took care to lay down casks of its spirit for long-term maturation.

Stewart Laing said, “We are pleased to offer Islay enthusiasts this exceptional malt whisky in our new Eidolon presentation, which will only feature whiskies from Port Ellen Distillery. It is without doubt a whisky of contrast – both a testament to historic wisdom and a celebration of modern whisky expertise. The Eidolon casks were carefully set aside some years ago for additional aging and we now believe they have reached the peak of their complexity and character.”

Brothers Scott and Andrew agreed, “A new generation of whisky perfectionists have, in turn, been fortunate to taste this increasingly rare spirit over the years, continuing to protect and nurture the casks across seasons and time.

“We have spent a great deal of time in designing the presentation and we believe that it does justice to the quality and rarity of the whisky inside. We are now thrilled that this exceptional malt can be experienced as the first bottling under the Eidolon series.”

In ancient Greek literature an eidolon is a recollection of something memorable from history – Hunter Laing’s Eidolon is being launched in anticipation of the closed Port Ellen distillery being “brought back to life” as distillery owners Diageo plan to resume production in the near future.

Facebook: @Hunterlaingwhisky

Twitter: @hlaingwhisky

Instagram: @hunterlaingwhisky

Notes

• Hunter Laing & Co is an independent distiller, blender and bottler based in Glasgow and run by the Laing Family – father Stewart with sons Andrew and Scott.
• Hunter Laing has been operating since May 2013 and owns a portfolio of much-loved whisky brands including Kinship, Old Malt Cask, Old & Rare, Hepburn’s Choice and Sovereign.
• It distributes to 65 markets around the world in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australasia.
• The Laing family are the owners of Ardnahoe Distillery on Islay, which began distilling in 2018.
• Ardnahoe Distillery has welcomed over 34,000 visitors to the distillery since 2018.

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?

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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