What is Spyniemore?

[Reggaeblues]

A couple of years ago I was given a bottle of cask strength Highland malt( I think it was) bottled by one of those whisky companies who do specialist bottlings by mail order, some with recognised distillery names, others with obvious pseudonyms, such as this -"Spyniemore."

It was quite unlike anything i've tasted before or since, and would love to know its origin. The only malt I've tasted since which was vaguely reminiscent, was "The Argyll malt" bottled for OMC - a cask strength version of the Hazelburn 8 YO, which leads me to believe that it might be a "Springbank"...because it shares the 1st 2 letters...but then, strictly speaking that'd make it a Cambletown.

I'd love to get something similar from whatever this distillery was, and sadly, I can't recall the name of the co. who put it out!

Any clues, anyone??

Thanks in advance , and Happy New Year!

[vitara7]

its sometimes very hard to work out where these come from, may even be a bastard malt.

[Lawrence]

I've never heard of it, I couldn't even find it in the 2007 WB. Have you searched on google for more info?

[vitara7]

i did and couldnt find nothing about it.

[Reggaeblues]

Spelling was wrong. no "e" on the end. But still that only yielded a minor ref. on Google to some miniature...according to which i gather( and recall) it was 22 years old. some dram!

Where's Sherlock Holmes when you need him? Probably sitting in Baker St. sipping a mystery dram of Spymiemor...

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

one reference was here

http://72.14.221.104/search?q=cache:F6P ... =clnk&cd=2

The collection of mini bottles for sale consists of funny names I have never heard before.

They let me believe that your Spyniemor is/was a blenders whisky, a single malt with a shot of another single malt.
Glenfiddich with 1% Balvenie becomes Wardhead, Balvenie with 1% Glenfiddich becomes Burnside and so on.

On the other hand the names in this collection are so weird that it could well be a hoax. Only that it mentions the Spyniemor.

Greetings
kallaskander

PS

If the malts have been distilled especially for Mr Bell the names might be his invention.

Here a little bit of information and a way to contact him.

Arthur J.A. Bell, CBE
The Whisky Connoisseur

Arthur J. A. Bell had a good Scottish education and took a Politics and Economics Degree from Edinburgh University. He also conducted one of the world's longest pub crawls. After drinking in 597 pubs, he wrote "A Complete Edinburgh Pub Guide" which sold 20,000 copies.

He started work in 1970 a mail order company. By 1973, he had set up his own first direct marketing company Scotland Direct. This was established in a crumbling site ot industrial dereliction called New Lanark. Today it is listed by UNESCO as a "World Heritage Site", is restored, and is Scotland's top rural tourist attraction. Arthur Bell has been instrumental with a small team in ensuring its restoration.

His direct marketing businesses encompasses "Scottish Gourmet" (mail order foods), "The Great British Beer Club", "The Whisky Connoisseur" and "The Coffee Connoisseur. In 1986, Arthur Bell was the subject of a historic court case when Guinness plc. took him to court for selling whisky under his own name, after they had purchased the famous distillery "Arthur Bell's of Perth". The Court of Session upheld Arthur Bell's "inalienable right" to trade under his own name.

Arthur Bell has thrice won the coveted award as the "Best Direct Marketing Copywriter in Britain", and has recently won a gold American ECHO Award. He has won many other British mailing gold awards. In 1996 he was awarded the Silver Award as U.K. Direct Marketer of the year.

Arthur Bell has acted as a British Government advisor on the development of small businesses for 1 8 years. He is Editor of "The Small Business News" and a regular broadcaster.

He can be contacted by telephone at (your country international access for the UK) plus 189921268 or by fax at access code plus 1899 20456.

From http://www.scottishradiance.com/staff.htm

Contact Arthur J. A. Bell at 101763.437@compuserve.com with your name and mailing address.

[Reggaeblues]

Thanks Kallaskander...

...for the info, and your informative and interesting history of Arthur Bell.
! have just sent him an email, and await his reply. I may even call him!

I promise to let you know the results of my enquiry.

Many thanks, Tim

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

you are welcome. Alas do not get your hopes up too high. It seems that the Whisky Connoisseur pages were discontinued quite some time ago. I hope the information I gave you is still valid and useful.

Good luck and yes please, keep us informed. Those names really made me curious.

Greetings
kallaskander

[Reggaeblues]

Managed to track down the Whisky connoiseur. Sent them an email...and here's the reply. Mystery solved!

"... way back in 2000 we sold a bottle of cask strength whisky called Spyniemor. This was a single cask bottling of Linkwood single malt whisky at natural cask strength. The detail associated with this bottle was as follows:

'Since 1821, Linkwood Distillery has stood within sight of Elgin Cathedral in a fertile area which had a distinguished history of brewing and distilling, dating from long before the granting of any licences. Distilled on 29th October 1981, this 'Spyniemor' is an elegant malt. It is lightly peated with subtle hints of wood smoke and fragrances of honeyed esters and other fruity notes. The taste is appealing, mouth coating, and distinctively malty.'

It would appear the mysterious malt is a single cask bottling of Linkwood whisky. "

Would never have guessed!

thanks for your help K!

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

you are welcome and thank you, I learned some new bits of news myself.

Greetings
kallaskander