We are pleased to annouce our events for the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 2013. All events can now be booked on line at: www.spiritofspeyside.com. 

Friday 3rd May 2013 – 10.00
Manager’s Tour with Callum Fraser
Join Callum Fraser, our new Production Manager, for a tour of the Glenfarclas distillery followed by a tasting of five whiskies. Callum, who has 22 years experience in whisky distilling, joined Glenfarclas in December 2012. This promises to be an interesting tour as Callum reflects on his first few months in post, and shares his enthusiasm for the future of the distillery. After the tour Callum will introduce you to a selection of five of his favourite Glenfarclas expressions. This is the first time Glenfarclas has hosted a Manager’s tour during the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, so join us for this historic event.
£40.00 per person.

Friday 3rd May 2013 – 14.00
Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength Tour and Tasting
After a tour of family owned Glenfarclas, celebrate the distillery’s iconic Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength with a tasting featuring the Glenfarclas 105, and the limited edition Glenfarclas 105 Aged 20 Years and Glenfarclas 105 Aged 40 Years, and for comparison a special cask sample from our warehouses also at 60%. Kate Wright, Marketing Executive, will host this unique cask strength tasting, which gives you the rare opportunity to taste all three 105s in one tasting.
£35.00 per person.

Saturday 4th May 2013 – 10.00
Glenfarclas – Anniversaries Tasting
Fully Booked.

Saturday 4th May 2013 - 15.00
Glenfarclas Tasting at the Mash Tun
Join George Grant, the sixth generation of the Grant family of Glenfarclas, at The Mash Tun for an afternoon of whisky tasting through the Glenfarclas range.
£20.00 per person.

Sunday 5th May 2013 – 13.30
Connoisseur’s Tour & Tasting
Enjoy a tour of Family owned Glenfarclas, after which Robert Ransom, Director of Sales & Marketing, will introduce you to a selection of four of his favourite expressions of Glenfarclas.
£25.00 per person.

Monday 6th May 2013 – 14.00
The Family Casks – Help choose the 1998 bottling
The Family Casks are a unique collection of single casks whiskies, with at least one cask bottled for every year from 1952 to 1997. To select the casks for each year, George Grant has nosed over 200 different casks. Now he would like you to assist in selecting the cask for the 1998 vintage to add to the collection. After a tour of the distillery, and a tasting of a selection of The Family Casks, George Grant will introduce a short list of 1998 cask samples, for you to nose, taste, comment on and then vote on. The chosen cask will then go forward for bottling, to be released for sale later in the year.
£45.00 per person.

To book please visit www.spiritofspeyside.com

We look forward to seeing you at the following whisky festivals and tastings; 


13th & 14th April 2013
Vienna Whisky Fair, Austria

2nd to 6th May 2013
Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, Scotland 
 

 
 
  

Spirits were high at Glenfarclas at the end of December as Alistair Miller, Mashman, celebrated forty years employment with J. & G. Grant. As noted by John Grant, Chairman, Alistair is one of just six employees (as opposed to members of the Grant family) in the distillery’s 176 year history, to reach this milestone, the others being Bill Strathdee, Alistair Stronach, Bob Greig, Eddie Thompson and most recently Philip Hutcheon, who retired in 2004.

Warmly respected by his colleagues, Alistair is known for his modesty and good humour. Asked to describe the role of Mashman by whisky writer Ian Buxton in 2011, Alistair joked, ‘I walk about and watch what happens’.

As is traditional on these occasions Alistair was presented with a sample of some of his earliest work, a gallon bottle of 40 years old Glenfarclas, with a personalised label illustrating his long career at the distillery.

J. & G. Grant are pleased to announce the appointment of Callum Fraser as the new Production Manager at the Glenfarclas Distillery.

Callum Fraser, originally from Stirlingshire, has twenty two years experience in whisky distilling, having joined Deanston Distillery when it reopened in 1990, and rising to the position of Distillery Manager in 2006. Callum commented, ‘I first tasted Glenfarclas at a whisky festival in Ayr a few years ago, and since then I have followed Glenfarclas with interest. I am thrilled to be moving to Speyside, the home of malt whisky, to work for an independent family owned distillery, with such a long history.’

John Grant, Chairman of J. & G. Grant, said, ‘It is my pleasure to welcome Callum Fraser to Glenfarclas. 2012 has been a record production year for us, and with plans to increase production still further in 2013, he joins us at a particularly busy and exciting time’.

Plans are also already underway for Callum to host a Manager’s Tour of Glenfarclas during the 2013 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, giving consumers the opportunity to meet the new Glenfarclas Distillery Manager.

The Varsity Match, held at Twickenham in December, has been the focus of Oxford and Cambridge student rivalry since 1872. The 131st event takes place on Thursday, December 6th at Twickenham Stadium. Glenfarclas, along with Pol Roger Champagne, are pleased to announce sponsorship of this highlight in the Varsity calendar.

Pol Roger, the UK distributor for Glenfarclas, has been a longstanding supporter of the healthy competition between these two renowned universities; Pol Roger is the official sponsor of the Varsity Blind Wine Tasting Match, now in its 60th year, and sponsor of the Varsity Real Tennis and Rackets match as well as both the Oxford and Cambridge Real Tennis Clubs. Thus, the iconic Varsity Rugby Match represents a fitting extension of this ongoing support.

George Grant, Director of Sales for Glenfarclas, commented “We are delighted to support such a prestigious sporting occasion that has long been the benchmark of student sporting achievement. We look forward to toasting the winners of the match with a dram or two of Glenfarclas!”

In celebration of this announcement captains John Carter, of Oxford University Rugby Football Club, and Rob Malaney, of Cambridge University Rugby Football Club, met on neutral turf at steak restaurant Hawksmoor, Guildhall for an unusually amicable encounter.

Post Match Report:

Won by Oxford, Oxford full-back Sam Egerton was named Man of the Match and awarded the Alastair Hignall prize and a bottle of Glenfarclas The Family Casks 1977.