High accolade indeed.Well done to all for a well deserved award for a fantastic wee nip!
September has been pretty hectic at Springbank Distillery as we have just taken delivery of around 30 tonnes of “Local Barley” which has ben grown within 5 miles of the distillery.
The barley type is Westminster, a recognised malting strain, and has been grown by local farmer David Young at Langy farm on a south west facing field overlooking Machrihanish Bay. The crop has been monitored by Frank McHardy and distillery manager Stuart Robertson who both agree that this year’s barley is very good.
The weather has been really kind over the past two weeks which has meant that the moisture content of the harvested barley is fairly low at arount 16 - 17%.
Stuart Robertson and his staff at the distillery have been kept busy receiving the barley and drying it in our kiln to a moisture level of 12% prior to puting it into storage where it will remain for at least the next three months. After that time the barley should have come out of dormancy and be ready to malt.
During May and June 2010 this malted barley will be used to produce Springbank™ spirit.
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We are all delighted with the news a few weeks ago that Whisky Magazine has awarded J & A Mitchell with “Distiller of the Year for 2010”. This is somewhat of a double celebration as Sales and Marketing Manager Pete Currie, was also voted “Young Brand Ambassador of the Year 2010” by Whisky Magazine. Pete and Distillery Manager Stuart Robertson were on hand in Glasgow that weekend to pick up the awards.
Receiving the Distillery of the Year award has been particularly satisfying coming the year after inaccurate rumours that the distillery was closing down. Springbank Distillery had to take some hard decisions in 2008, and decided to cut back in production mainly due to the high cost of utilities and barley. Some people in the distilling industry thought that this was a backward step and we did receive some criticism at that time. We felt that it would be prudent to wait until prices stabilised. That has now happened and we are continuing to distil at both our distilleries.
We feel that by presenting us with this award, the Whisky Magazine judges have not only appreciated the quality of this years releases (Springbank 18 year old, Springbank 2001 vintage, Longrow CV, Hazelburn 12 year old, Springbank Madeira Wood Expression and Kilkerran Work in Progress). They have also recognised that the decisions taken last year were based on 180 years of distilling experience from Scotland’s oldest distilling family.
Pete Currie has certainly made his mark during the time that he has spent with us and has become respected throughout the Whisky World as a Sales and Marketing Manager who has an in-depth knowledge of Scotch Whisky.
