Summerton Virtual Whisky Festival ‘RELOADED’ catchup
Summerton Virtual Whisky Festival took place on 27 March 2021, presenting ten drams from five distilleries to Summerton Whisky Club Members and their guests. Representatives from Cotswolds, Deanston, Glasgow and Spirit of Yorkshire Distilleries, and Sliabh Liag Distillers joined our guest speakers (see below) to taste and discuss their incredible liquids.
Alongside the whisk(e)y, attendees enjoyed superb music sets from Richie Phillips and Jarrod Dickenson, cocktail sessions from Andy Duckworth (Malt Box), a quiz from Ant & Nicky (New Dram Drinker). Festival packs included an award winning gin from White Hare Distillery, mixers from Larkfire and Double Dutch and snacks from Indie Bay, Sun Valley, LoveCorn and The Snaffling Pig.
*a number of offers and discounts were announced throughout the festival. These are available to attendees and members, and you will find them in your emails from hello@summertonclub.com
If you couldn’t make the day, or fancy re-watching a particular session, the entire day was recorded for posterity – just click play on the video below. Full details of our guest speakers can be found further down the page, along with in-depth distillery details.
Enjoy!
00:00:01 – Intro set Richie Phillips | 00:28:15 – Welcome from Dan | 00:33:48 – Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery | 01:17:20 – Music – Richie Phillips | 01:24:30 – Cocktail 1 – Andy Duckworth | 01:33:34 – Deanston Distillery | 02:11:00 – Music – Richie Phillips | 02:18:11 – Quiz 1 – New Dram Drinker | 02:44:23 – Cotswolds Distillery | 03:25:37 Music – Richie Phillips | 03:55:12 – Quiz 2 – New Dram Drinker | 04:19:10 – The Glasgow Distillery | 05:03:29 – Music – Jarrod Dickenson | 05:16:22 – Cocktail 2 – Andy Duckworth | 05:27:56 – Sliabh Liag Distillers (Silkie) | 06:14:35 – Wrap-up from Dan | 06:20:17 – Music – Richie Phillips
THE BRANDS
THE GLASGOW DISTILLERY COMPANY
SCOTTISH WHISKY DISTILLERY OF THE YEAR 2020
In 1770, The Glasgow Distillery Company was founded at Dundashill and remained active until consequent closure at the beginning of the 20th Century. In 2014 The Glasgow Distillery Company re-opened becoming the first Single Malt Whisky Distillery in Glasgow for over 100 years. The Glasgow Distillery Company is re-establishing the metropolitan Scotch Malt Whisky tradition alongside the great whisky regions and bringing Glasgow Malt Whisky back to life!
DEANSTON
THE STORY OF A COMMUNITY
Our story is one of a community and the many people who have made it what it is today. Brought together by a shared craft, the inhabitants of Deanston have spent many decades inspiring a commitment to innovation, authentic craftsmanship and community spirit. The story of our Distillery has inspired us, in the production of our many Single Malts, and the hand crafted techniques which give Deanston the fresh, honeyed sweetness it’s known for.
THE SPIRIT OF YORKSHIRE
Welcome to the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery, where we’re making world class single malt whisky, here on the Yorkshire Coast of England.
We believe in doing things properly and we’re obsessed with every step of the growing and distilling process, from field to bottle. Mentored by renowned whisky expert Dr. Jim Swan, our instinctive approach is to create a whisky that doesn’t just replicate Scotch. That doesn’t mean we rely on blind luck – we take the best of tradition and apply new thinking to create something unique: Filey Bay Yorkshire Single Malt Whisky.
Sliabh Liag Distillers – Ardara Distillery
Sliabh Liag Distillers is the first distilling company in the county for over 175 years, established with the purpose of reclaiming the distilling heritage of Donegal.
In James and Moira Doherty, two Scatterlings have returned to Sliabh Liag with their Meitheal (work-gang or team) to create a legacy that the whole community can be proud of. Located on the Sliabh Liag peninsula, the two distilleries are surrounded by one of the world’s most striking landscapes populated by resilient people, steeped in folklore and with a legendary distilling heritage.
THE COTSWOLDS DISTILLERY
The first whisky ever to be distilled in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky is a rich and fruity single malt.
The Cotswolds Distillery was founded in 2014 by Dan Szor. A native New Yorker, Dan had been working in finance in London and spending his weekends with his family in the Cotswolds. He had been looking for a new direction that would let him move permanently to the countryside and do something he was passionate about.
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Dan Humphrey
Summerton Whisky Club
Hi, my name’s Dan. I launched the Summerton Whisky Club in January 2018, which has slowly grown into the largest full-bottle whisky subscription out there. Summerton Whisky Club started as a Christmas present for my Dad. Having spent a fair few Christmases and birthdays giving him bottles of whisky, I wanted to do something different and to stand out from previous years. I wanted to sign him up to a whisky subscription that would deliver a rare and unique bottle to his doorstep every month or two, but couldn’t find one. Undeterred, I created a whisky subscription for him that has now grown into the Summerton Whisky Club sharing whisky with over 1000 members.
MATTHEW WRIGHT
TV Presenter
After 18 years of 4am starts for his tv show The Wright Stuff it’s perhaps understandable that Matthew developed a fondness for quality beverages. Truth be told, his association with whisky goes a little further back than that: as a student at Exeter University in the 1980s, Matthew and his housemates were frequent visitors to the legendary Nobody Inn with its enormous selection of 260 plus whiskies. He attempted to sample the lot over the ensuing three years of study but failed and has been catching up ever since. After leaving uni Matthew abandoned his dream of acting to work first as a print journalist with The Daily Mirror where wining and dining celebrities like George Michael and Jim Carrey opened his eyes to the joys of the grape before moving into TV and radio. Matthew became a father for the first time at 53 to the delight of wife Amelia and has become a regular face on ITV’s This Morning in recent months. Away from work, Matthew loves fly fishing – he’s Vice President of the Wild Trout Trust – and restoring old British motorcycles. He dreams of opening a fly fishing business in the Caribbean</p?
JOE WADSACK
Celebrity Chef & Drinks Expert
Joe is the only person ever to win the coveted International Wine and Spirit Communicator of the Year award twice, in 2005 and 2016. He studied wine making in Bordeaux and has since worked as a buyer and consultant for a number of leading supermarket chains. Joe’s was the youngest ever International Senior Judge at The Royal Melbourne Wine Show, and has featured on many BBC and ITV Shows discussing all aspects of drink. He currently presents The Drinks Coach UK on YouTube on week nights at 8.30pm
COLIN HAMPDEN-WHITE
Presenter, Three Drinkers (Amazon Prime)
Colin is a presenter on The Three Drinkers on Amazon Prime, Chairman of the Circle of Wine Writers and a Keeper of the Quaich. Having started his career at the Scotsman, he worked at The Times and FT, and became the founding editor of Whisky quarterly magazine. He now writes, tastes and is consultant spirits editor for Club Oenologique. In his spare time, he is a fine art photographer working with Vogue Italia and is represented by the Rebecca Hossack gallery in London and New York.He has exhibited all over the world including the National Portrait Gallery. He has won the Louis Roederer Award for Artistry and the Born Digital award for photography
MATT McKAY
The Dramble
Matt McKay is the lead writer for thedramble.com a well-known whisky website. In addition he is the official spokesperson for London’s Bimber Distillery, where he heads up marketing and communications. A self-proclaimed whisky geek, Matt has sat on the judging panels for whisky competitions and is one of few whisky writers to hold the IBD General Certificate in Distilling
ant & NICKY
New Dram Drinker
For the last 12 months we have embarked on a journey into the wonderful world of whisky.
As newbies we searched social media looking for guidance on how to drink whisky and which whiskies we should try first. Whilst we found many channels and posts – none of them were for the ‘new’ whisky drinker. Hence New Dram Drinker was born!
The whisky community is huge and there are many wonderful people out there that we couldn’t wait to tap into this vast wealth of knowledge and connect with like minded whisky enthusiasts. We have made friends that have supported us and steered us in the right direction with their knowledge and generosity. We are constantly improving whilst having fun along the way!
So, whatever you’re drinking, however you are drinking it we salute you.
andy duCKWORTH
Malt Box
Andy has been a part of the whisky community for over a decade. In 2012 he set up the Manchester Whisky Club and since handing over the reins he has run his whisky blog Malt Box on YouTube.
After drinking supermarket value branded whisky as a penniless teenager, he quickly fell in love with everything that whisky had to offer when a bottle of Glenmorangie 10 was handed to him one Christmas.
For Andy, whisky is there for drinking, is best when shared and is a strong proponent of drinking the water of life however you want to.
AMY SETON
The Birmingham Whisky Club
Amy is well-known in the whisky world as the owner of The Birmingham Whisky Club, which she started in 2011 after a ten-year career in the corporate world. In 2018 she and her team turned what was a tasting events company, popping up at venues and bars around the city, into Birmingham’s first whisky bar and tasting room.
Over the years, Amy has endeavoured to infuse as much creativity, passion and story-telling into the business. Through unique tastings, her internationally acclaimed festival ‘Whisky Birmingham’ and the 350 strong whisky selection available at the Club, Amy and her team, have a mission to break down the barriers there are in the whisky world by making it more accessible so a new generation of people can enjoy the ‘water of life’.
CJ
Single Malt Vault
CJ is a well renowned whisky enthusiast from West London. CJ has run a successful Instagram channel @singlemaltvault for over 4 years, also working alongside a number of brands.
THE EXTRAS
WHITE HARE DISTILLERY
ENJOY THE SPIRIT OF THE HARE
The White Hare Distillery takes pride of place in the heart of Usk, South Wales. Established in 2018, owner and distiller Christos Kyriakidis has drawn on his wealth of knowledge, experience and unbridled passion to create a range of gin like no other. Distilled using locally foraged pine, rosemary and pink grapefruit along with a secret blend of botanicals, the range continues to grow…
DOUBLE DUTCH
THE PERFECT TWIN FOR YOUR SPIRIT
Raised in the Netherlands, Double Dutch’s twin founders, Joyce and Raissa, have a natural affinity with superlative drinks and excellent blendings. After all, they come from the birthplace of gin! But their love affair turned to frustration. While the world’s choice of spirits has continued to grow, mixers and sodas have remained bland … less of a twin, more of a shadow. Double Dutch is the result of a love affair – uniting great spirits with complementary mixers that enliven and enhance.
LARKFIRE
WILD WATER FOR WHISKY
Enjoying water with whisky has been part of Scottish heritage since the invention of the drink itself. Too often though, harder mineral or tap waters are added which can easily spoil this subtle and complex drink. As whisky drinkers, we wanted to find the purest, softest water untainted by minerals and this led us to the Isle of Lewis. Hard to get to, but worth the effort.
INDIE BAY SNACKS
AWARD-WINNING SNACKS WITH BENEFITS
It all began with a real need – an empty snack drawer, a house full of hungry kids and a run to the local shop, only to be met with a deep frustration at the options available. We all love to snack, but we don’t want to feel lousy for doing so. It got us thinking – why isn’t there a better snack that’s delicious and satisfying, without the guilt or the grease? Indie Bay Snacks was created, and soon after we launched our first line: Pretzel Bites.
They’re crunchy, moreish and, of course, round!
THE SUN VALLEY NUT/SNACK CO.
NUTS IF YOU DO, NUTS IF YOU DON’T
We’re nut experts. Smoky, spicy chilli nuts. Classic salted cashews. Little pots, big jars or bags of mixed nuts which keep you reaching for more. We’ve been perfecting our nut snacks for over 70 years, from classic salted peanuts to some truly exciting innovations including hand-crafted crisps that are naturally delicious and made ‘up north from quality British potatoes.
Love, Corn
PREMIUM CRUNCHY CORN!
We’re Love Corn, the first premium, crunchy corn snack! Our delicious crunchy corn kernels are packed with flavour and made with love. We’re perfect on-the-go, packed in a lunch box, sprinkled on a salad or paired with your favourite refreshing beverage.
All our snacks are:
– Crunchy & delicious
– Plant based
– Gluten Free
THE SNAFFLING PIG CO.
LET’S MAKE THE PIGGIN’ MAGIC HAPPEN
We think the humble pork scratching is a legendary snack but one that’s been neglected left in the shadows. So in 2015 we began our quest for porky perfection and turned our obsession for these delicious snacks into a business with just £500.
We think if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing piggin’ right. That’s why we set out to make the finest, most awesome flavoured porky snacks possible.