One year ago, we were in the starting blocks for our “25 Years Society” celebrations in Switzerland and had the opportunity to spend some great evenings with Olaf. Who would have thought that one year later, everything would somehow be different?
Nevertheless, I am very much looking forward to once again meeting many members in person this month. As usual, we will conduct our tastings in Bern, Basel and Zurich.
The rules will remain as they were in June: there is enough disinfectant everywhere; we’ll collect everyone’s contact details at each table (which we then destroy after two weeks); and if you feel sick or unwell, you can simply rebook your tickets without any hassle whatsoever. If anyone has any questions, please get in touch with me.
Formalities aside, September is full of surprises. To wit: we managed to get a few bottles from this year’s Gathering bottling 7.243: Twinning, and two 15-year-old 2nd fill bourbon barrels spent the last year together in a 1st fill ex-PX butt. Need I say more? For fans of peaty variety, there are two expressions from Distillery 53, both distilled on 7 March 2012: the 53.335: Wine and brine which got its finishing touches in an ex-madeira hogshead, and the 53.336: Fruitcake ‘Islay-style’ which spent the same period in a 1st fill Re-Charred barrique. Since we only have a few bottles from all three bottlings, each member can order no more than one bottle per bottling.
The next thing you know, autumn will be at our doorstep – and shortly afterwards, the most beautiful time of year. With this in mind, the Whisky Calendar is already available for you to order. This time, at the request of some members, there are two versions: one with the usual labels on the bottles, and the other with numbers only. This way, those who are up for the challenge can see how they fare; a sealed envelope contains the answers. Only 65 of the calendars are available for order from now until the end of October and will be sent out in the second week of November.
Stay healthy, relax with a great dram and best wishes,
Patric Lutz