Selby Game Fair

Jane — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:12:25 +0000

Originally uploaded by Spencerfield Spirit

Snowdrops fading, daffodils flowering and spring advancing we set off for Selby Game Fair - that was after extensive remedial work to Dolly the Truck and the resultant MOT. It was touch and go whether works would be completed on time but they duly were and we arrived in Selby under cover of darkness, set up by candlelight and quickly decided on an indoor picnic dinner and an early night as the artic gale made unheated Dolly and two duvets more atractive than forays to local hostelries. Things continued much the same but found Miles from the Curry Company and other traders to keep us company - we were so delighted to be indoors on this occasion and gratified by the enthusiam of the local people who battled through dreadful conditions to support the event. Miles gave us a lift to Snaith come the following sunset and we found warm pub to have a welcome hot dinner - fantastic cajun haddock fresh from Hull - even managed to peel off the three sweaters and get down to a t-shirt and wellies - though on encountering a ball gowned be-clad young woman in the ladies whilst thawing my hands in hot water ( I cant call it a rest-room as there’s never anywhere to lie down) did feel a little under-dressed. Next morning 4 inches of snow - very pretty and a first for Dug but with gales, snow and mud many traders had left and that evening we retreated back to Fife’s balmy micro clime - but thank you Selby and everyone who turned out - real survivors - slightly warmed by Sheep Dipsamples - next time im bringing an urn and making hot toddiies!

Costco California

Jane — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:48:30 +0000

Here we go, again…back on the road, again…. la, la, la ………….and looking forward to it. Alex is just back from stores in Houston, Dallas and Austin, Texas then headed on to CostCo stores in Danville and Mount View, California. He was easy enough to spot as was the only one wearing tartan trews and looking sad because state California Liquor Law forbade him from sharing his whisky samples…..unlike Specs in Houston the previous week where he gave away bucketfulls to thirsty Texans.”It was a very interesting five days the Costco customers were great and really wanted to know about the brands we have had lots of feedback on our website from them all very posative towards the brands.Costco was very impressive a fantastic selection of wines from every region, great bargins on white goods and an impressive range of fresh and organic food.So impressive I joined and bought a new digital camera, going further into the red for the trip……… we sold lots too! so thanks to everyone who went along and gave me the pleasure of your company.This is “Jesus” who helped my aching feet by letting me use his foot massager part of the King Kong range he was demonstrating.This worked a treat and Jesus worked even harder than me being on site for at least 10 hours a day - he sold lots!

After buying the new camera I took this shot of “Jacky” who was celebrating his birthday, he was about to purchase another malt whisky but I hijacked him into taking a “Sheep Dip” which I also wrote a birthday greeting on for him.He was newish to malt whisky and a perfect convert, young fashionable and looking for a high quality whisky.I hope he enjoyed sharing it with his friends.

I look forward to working in Costcos again everyone was very helpful and the customers great to talk to”.

Drammie Awards

Jane — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:29:03 +0000

Drammies Award

Well a big THANK YOU to everyone who voted for us in the drammies. We did exceptionally well and as well as having the vote of three of the best whisky writers in the world have the accolade of being the second-most underated whisky in the world - not bad for a very small company and Glenfarclas who took first place is a really underated dram.

Follow link for full details

http://www.inebrio.com/Drammies/2007.php

Most under-rated-whisky
Sheep Dip
This was a tough one. I love Glenfarclas. But I don’t think it’s as under-appreciated as Sheep Dip.
Quirky labeling and marketing, and a flavor that anyone will like. Sheep dip is a great product - created and under the watchful eye of Richard Paterson. Fairly-priced. The very definition of accessible whisky. What more could you ask for?
Kevin Erskine

Sheep Dip
Another excellent category with 5 worthy nominees. So, what would give a nominee the extra cred here is not just being under-rated, but being bad-mouthed. Nobody is critical of Glenfarclas or Dalmore. Everyone who tries Amrut is pleasantly surprised, and Arran, not yet even a teenager, is still too young to pick on. Sheep Dip has a nickname (Sheep Shit) that I have actually heard used by whisky retailers and has never deserved it. Now with a new recipe from Richard Paterson, new labelling (bye-bye yellow and brown!), the darling project of darling people Jane and Alex (Spencerfield Spirit Co.) deserves recognition as flavoursome, good value Scotch whisky.

Dr Whisky

Sheep Dip
I can’t pick Glenfarclas again (can I?), so I’m going for Sheep Dip if only to acknowledge what a great job Alex Nicol is doing and how tough it is for a true independent to succeed. (Will this do Alex?)

Ian Buxton

…and Congratulations to Sam - Dr.Whisky

They came from outer space

Jane — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:43:53 +0000

We have produced a great little back-bar piece - a little wooden barrel, lined with sheep skin (fake) with brass banding. We tested them at the newly opened “Illicit Still” in Edinburgh last December at a whisky tasting with a great bunch of young and not so young people from Scotland, England New Zealand, France and Sweden and they proved really popular. We were worried that they would look a bit tacky but research has proven them as more likely to be regarded as cute! We have recently introduced them into bars in Paris, Amsterdam and NY and they are going down a storm - they do allow differentiation from other products on a bar - so if you stock Sheep Dip and would like one for your bar do get in touch. Distributors in US, Germany,France and Holland and Alberta already have them and they will be available from Southtrade in Australia when we launch there in May.

For those not lucky enough to have their own bar they will be available from the web-site as gift packs well in time for (do I dare mention the word in April) Christmas!!!

Introducing:Spencerfield’s new team member

Jane — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:33:00 +0000

The Sheepdipper will shortly be carrying the Spencerfield’s colours to the race tracks of UK, He is a four year old bright bay out of Weldnaas and Good Job (a Deep Run mare) Hes heading to Overton near lanark for his first race track on Feb 16th to have his first race track outing - after racing!!! and then who knows - perhaps a flat bumper race to start off and then que sera..sera but hes in the capable hands of one of Scotlands’s leading national hunt yards with Lucy and Alan Normile at Duncreavie in Perthshire and trying hard on the gallops at Glenfarg. He’s learning to jump and looks set to make a capable hurdler …more news soon.

Dr Whisky reviews Pigs Nose

Jane — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:56:18 +0000

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Malt Mission 2008 #223

Pig’s Nose 5 yo
Blended Scotch Whisky
40% abv
£18
$30(USD)Blended for the contemporary drinker by Richard Paterson of Whyte & Mackay, Pig’s Nose was originally created in 1977 as a companion spirit to Sheep Dip (which you can vote for in the 2007 Drammies!!!)Taking its name from the expression “soft as a pig’s nose” (the bottle reads “‘Tis said that our scotch is as soft and as smooth as a pig’s nose”), this blend is designed to be smooth but full of character with a 40% malt content… which is quite high for a blended whisky, not that malt content is a guarantee of quality (”Blending is not all about malt content, it’s about balancing the malts you’ve got”- David Stewart, Wm Grant&Co)So, smooth but full of character; character, indeed. After all, a pig’s nose spends most of its days nosing around in shit, mud, and feed. I bet on some days you could also say that describes the job of a blender, searching for the diamonds among the manure, but it is also how Alex and Jane at The Spencerfield Spirit Co. spend many of their days knee deep in the good stuff tending to their horses on their livery farm in the Kingdom of Fife. Alex Nicol (formerly of Scottish & Newcastle, Glenmorangie, Whyte & Mackay, Laphroaig, and others) and partner in crime Jane Eastwood took these two brands (Sheep Dip and Pig’s Nose) from Whyte & Mackay when Nicol left the company a few years ago. If it makes you feel good to support the little guys, these are folks well worthy. Jane and Alex keep a blog of their advetures HERE.For more on Spencerfield Whisky Co., read Gavin D. Smith’s Whisky Pages HERE or visit their website above.TASTING NOTES:Soft but rich, lots of cereal notes: oats, rye, malted barley, and a touch of peat (or is it just soil?). Sweet and alluring.

Nice rounded flavour in the mouth, if that makes any sense. Banana bread, shiraz, and a drying sherry element. Spicy, as well, with a smoky element… like the faint whiff of smoke on pub couches weeks after the smoking ban kicked in.

SUMMARY:

Easy-going and satisfying. Very well-integrated flavours without any hard edges. That being said, it is a whisky for whisky drinkers, ie. it is engaging and 40% alcohol by volume so “smooth” it ain’t. Tasty it is. Great that in this age of premiumisation there remain some affordable whiskies that don’t taste like a pig’s arse (which can be quite tasty with some mustard).

Malt Mission #221
Malt Mission #222
Malt Mission #224
Malt Mission #225

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2 comments:

Matthew said…: Hey, sounds great! Think we’ll get it in Ontario? I’d love to try some.; 10:19 PM
Will said…: I was wondering when you were going to get around to reviewing this! I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this drink…and here, I thought I didn’t like blended whisky…!I want to try giving it to a non-whisky drinker. I wouldn’t be surprised if the lack of hard edges you note prevents it from being unpalatable to such unfortunate souls.; 5:48 PM

Burns Supper: January 25th.

Mike — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:49:17 +0000

Find out more about NCH Scotland, the children’s charity

Find out more about www.realradiofm.com

Considering the ingredients of a Haggis, (particularly the casing) isn’t Sheep Dip the perfect whisky to accompany a Real Burns Supper?

We think so. (Well we would wouldn’t we?)

With the great date, for the great man looming, we thought some of our readers might like reminding of the correct procedure over the evening, and indeed reference to the appropriate celebratory poems and songs.

THE FORMAT FOR A BURNS SUPPER

Opening address:
A few welcoming words start the evening and the meal commences with the Selkirk Grace:

Selkirk Grace:
“Some hae meat and cannot eat.
Some cannot eat that want it:
But we hae meat and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.”

The company are asked to stand to receive the haggis.
A piper then leads the chef, carrying
the haggis to the top table, while the guests accompany them with a slow handclap.
The chairman or invited guest then recites Burns’ famous poem To A Haggis, with great enthusiasm. When he reaches the line ‘an
cut you up wi’ ready slight’, he cuts open the haggis with a sharp knife.

Address to a Haggis:
“Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o the puddin’-race!
Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang’s my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o need,
While thro your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An cut you up wi ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an strive:
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,
Till a’ their weel-swall’d kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
‘Bethankit’ hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi perfect sconner,
Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckless as a wither’d rash,
His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit:
Thro bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He’ll make it whissle;
An legs an arms, an heads will sned,
Like taps o thrissle.

Ye Pow’rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies:
But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!”

It’s customary for the company to applaud the speaker then stand and toast the haggis with
a glass of whisky. (Guess which one.)

All guests then dine.

The Immortal Memory:
A key feature of the evening, here a designated guest gives a short speech on Burns (1759-1796).

There are many different types of Immortal Memory speeches, encompassing whimsy to gravitas, as appropriate.
But the central theme is always to observe the stature and pertinence of the poet, even today.

Toast To The Lasses:
The Immortal Memory speech is followed by a more light-hearted address to the ladies present.

From the earliest days of the Burns Supper, this was traditionally, a thank you to the women-folk for the evening’s food. It is also a opportunity to toast the Lasses in Burns’ life.

Recommendations for the tone are to be; be witty, but never offensive, and should always ending on a concilliatory note.

Response:
Now it’s the turn of the Lasses to outline men’s foibles. Preferably in a light, humorous way, and certainly not derogatory.

Poem and Songs:
Once the speeches are complete the evening continues with songs and poems.

Suggested favourites are Tam O’ Shanter, Address to the Unco Guid, To A Mouse and Holy Willie’s Prayer.

The evening ends with all present standing, linking hands and singing Auld Lang Syne.

Auld Lang Syne:
“For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I’ll be mine,
And we’ll tak a cup o kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou’d the gowans fine,
But we’ve wander’d monie a weary fit,
Sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie’s a hand o thine,
And we’ll tak a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.”

ps: Please feel free to join our FaceBook group, to keep up to speed with everything that’s happening at Spencerfield, and of course with Sheep Dip and Pigs Nose.

You can join us on FaceBook here:

Poor Dug

Jane — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 14:58:35 +0000

Poor Dug, originally uploaded by Spencerfield Spirit.

It was a long, not-so-hot summer and a busy autumn Christmas rush so Dugs had his work cut out getting all those dispatches loaded and other general supervisory duties. Sad to say, whilst indulging in a few games of tag and general rough and tumble with Purdie, one of his closest friends, a hereditary problem with his right knee emerged which meant his knee cap kept sliding out of the usual groove and down his leg - (there must be a technical name for that).

We waited, as sometimes these things right themselves, visited three vets and were advised by Tam from the Fife and Kinross Terrier Club, Dug meanwhile became quite competent and could travel distance at speed using only three legs but it must have been very uncomfortable and quite sore I imagine.

Last Monday Dug eventually went under the knife to prevent the onset of arthritis in his old age - hes only three.

Like any sick man he lay around looking sad in front of the fire surfacing only to drink milk and eat antibiotics disguised in chocolate (yes…..he knows its bad for him but is addicted) but is now on the mend and looking forward to continuing has activities of the last week for the next couple of weeks. He has removed the bandage and its back to the vets for stitch removal on monday and im sure we will be back chasing seagulls on the beach before New Year and ready in time for our first trade show.

Scotland’s Food Fair SECC 27th - 29th January

James Anderson

Alex — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:41:47 +0000

James Anderson, his wife (born at Spencerfield Farm) and five children left the farm in Inverkeithing in 1791 and crossed the Atlantic to work in Virginia.After a year or so, he was employed by George Washington as his farm manager at his Mount Vernon farm, the farm was mainly wheat and fruit. Interestingly it had a huge gristmill to increase the production of flour for export to Europe.

James Anderson saw the other possibilities of a large grist mill, as he had grown up distilling on the farm in Scotland and convinced George Washington to build a whiskey distillery adjacent to the gristmill.Washington a great entrepreneur was not slow to develop its potential.

The distillery was hugely successful and in 1799 was the largest in America.At its peak it utilized five pot stills and a massive boiler producing 11,000 gallons of whiskey.James Anderson distilled small quantities at Spencerfield and like most farmers didn’t see the necessity to inform the excise man.At Mount Vernon they probably paid a reasonable amount of tax on the spirit!given that Washington was President at the time.

The anniversary of Washington’s death falls on the 14th of December and we thought we would commemorate the great men of Scotland and Virginia by having a few drams at the farm on Friday night.

Drop in for a swift one .

Fame at last.

Mike — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:26:43 +0000

“George? …who’s George”…please get in touch, George. George kindly sent Paul O’Grady a mini Sheep Dip and a mini Pigs Nose explaining that his friend on Skye put his longevity down to a Pigs Nose each morning and a Sheep Dip each night …. please try this at home